Why We Should Avoid Self-Directed Ageism

Health, success, and happiness begin with embracing our age.

Not long ago, I was visiting my grandchildren in California. A group of young children were playing and practicing cartwheels on the front lawn. Some performed better than others.

I told my granddaughter that we could practice cartwheels after school the following day. I would show her how easy it was. In my mind, I run forward, with arms up in the air, doing cartwheels across the back yard.

I really, really thought I was able to do them. I did run, with arms up in the air. But then I came to a full and complete stop.

My heart sank. I knew that cartwheels, along with multiple other activities, are now buried in my history.

Understanding that old age is stealing our vibrant youth is a slow, day-to-day realization. Our personal attributes and activities of daily living are changing. Renewing our attitudes to fit our own best interest is vital to thriving.

Resting our mind on victories of yesterday is sweet, but today is what matters. When we mourn activities that we can no longer do, rather than celebrating what we can do, life becomes hard. This is a form of self-directed ageism, in its simplest form.

Agism or ageism, is a frequent word that pops up in books, articles, speeches, and forums everywhere, now more than ever. The word is heavy, and it means discrimination or prejudice against another person based on age.

Today, I direct my focus towards the distal end of the aging spectrum, how we relate to the aging process matters. Thinking that we are too old for this and too old for that is our privilege. There is no law against it. We can think whatever we want.

But self -directed ageism is a negative attitude that is harmful to our well being.

A systematic review, found evidence that there is a significant association between ageism and health, especially between self-perception of aging and health.

There is an abundance of jokes going around, poking fun at the characteristics of our older selves. Personally, I don’t find them funny.

We are better off embracing our age and enjoying life to the fullest. After all, wisdom gained from life experiences accumulates from living only.

No wonder aging is a hot topic. There are so many of us and the number is growing day by day as we are living longer. In the United States alone, there are almost 60 million adults over 65.

According to a report from the United Nations, there are more than 700 million adults over age 65 in the world. With a number like that, agism in some form, is relevant. In the year 2050, when I turn 100, this age group is projected to reach 1.5 billion. Imagine that.

Imagine, having all these mature and experienced adults walking around the globe. They are like treasure chests, packed with wisdom. This wisdom cannot be bought, inherited, borrowed, stolen, or gifted. No, this wisdom is earned through the mere act of living and learning.

Imagine being one of these people lucky enough to live that long, surviving all kinds of challenges and trauma, and discriminating against ourselves because we are too old.

Too old, for what? Too old to be healthy, too old to be successful, or too old to be happy? I beg you to reconsider, having this negative mindset.

The aging process is inevitable but giving up on ourselves is a choice.

When we discredit and disrespect ourselves because we are growing old, we discriminate against nature. This sends the message that ageism is acceptable. It is not.

We can experience health, success, and happiness until the day we die by engaging in a lifestyle that helps us feel optimal in body, mind, and spirit.

Optimal means different things to different people because we are all different.

We can maintain optimal health, despite having cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the world. By taking medications as ordered and adopting a therapeutic diet, we can keep blood sugar and blood pressure control.

Taking at least 30 minutes a day to exercise, by choosing an activity that we enjoy, does wonder for our physical being. Promoting health, that is doable at our own capacity, improves energy levels.

We can also gain optimal success after 65. Between the ages of 60 and 90 lie enormous possibilities that we didn’t have during a younger stage. For those of us who were tied up to family responsibilities between the ages of 30 and 60, we now have a new opportunity.

We can dig into our treasure chest, rediscover our unique ability, and go out in the world to help our contemporaries. Helping others, with what we learned from our own experience, is true success at any age.

Optimal happiness after age 65 is also based on attitude. By celebrating our age and counting our blessings, life can be lived with joy and gratitude.

Appreciating all that we are, all that we can do, and all that we have is the greatest happiness maker.

Happiness is experienced by bringing awareness to what matters and to feel gratitude for the goods that we do have.

As for my beautiful granddaughter, she will never have a memory of me doing cartwheels across the back yard. But how I loved her, and how we spent precious times together, I hope to be embedded in the memory of her heart, forever and always.

If you want to learn more about health and happiness for Baby Boomers, please go to my website and download a free Ebook: 10 Steps to Better Health and More Happiness at any Age. Go to www.northboundspry.com

Thank you.