We are all getting older. “Old” sounds like a four-letter word—but it is actually only three letter, so we shouldn’t be afraid of it.
I like to tell my students that my goal is to go back to every high school reunion (we have them every 5 years) in proportionally better shape than my classmates. Ultimately, I joke, I want to go to my 50-year reunion and have all the ladies talking about what a great athlete I was. (I wasn’t, but I am hoping that memories are failing and that I will have done enough to maintain some reasonable level of physical fitness.) It is not an unreasonable goal. The thing about fitness is that it is easier to maintain than it is to gain. Most allow for a substantial decline in physical fitness, thinking it is to be expected. So, if one just maintains, he or she will seemingly gain fitness as the years pass. I joke about the intent of the goal, but I sincerely strive to maintain a more youthful level of fitness.
I had a conversation, recently, with a student who wants to work with the geriatric population. She doesn’t want to be on the staff of a senior living facility, per se. She wants to work with individuals on fitness and nutrition—a personal trainer of sorts, but beyond the physical. Having the interest I do in wellness—“well-centered fitness”—I was excited by the students entrepreneurial spirit. We discussed that what she wants to do in not unlike a “life coach”. Life coaches, however, tend to focus more on the front end of living. I suggested that what she wants to do might be termed “life completion coach”. (One friend asked if that wasn’t what Dr. Kevorkian did. My wife thinks it sounds morbid. Maybe the label needs some work.) The idea of such a specialization sent my mind spinning. After all, we plan for end of life, but usually from the perspective of death and dying. Maybe we could shift the focus toward ending well?
Aging is terminal, but it need not be thought of as a disease. The latter years of life are, of course, just a phase we live through. Why focus on “inevitable” decline when we can live to capture the best of every moment.
This is why my interest in exercise physiology has taken a turn toward “well-centered fitness”. It is not enough to live longer. Life should be lived well—Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Socially. We have no control over what we can’t control—of course. We can, however, take charge of what we can to ensure that the days we do have will be as full as possible.
We must plan financially for the future. We must have a plan for our final years—health care, changes in self-sufficiency and health, etc.—but we must also act now for our final years.
We tend to expect the body to decline with age, and, to some extent, it will. Aging, however, is controllable. Therefore, we must consider diet and both physical and cognitive exercise early rather than later. We must live with purpose and a desire to sustain healthy relationships. We must continue striving to be better tomorrow than we are today. Sure, in some capacities, being “better” as a measurable increase in performance will diminish with time. When measured against the “expected” decline or the decline observed in others, staying above the curve becomes the increase. Thus, we age comparably well.
I look forward to aging. Approaching 60 and beyond does not worry me. Rather, it challenges me. I plan to outlive the competition. I regularly see world-records being set by octogenarians and think: “That could be me in 40 or 50 years.” I am not the strongest or the fastest now, but, if I can maintain for so many years, I will kick a** when I am 90 or 100. Why not?
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!
Image source: http://www.asiaone.com/asia/japans-105-year-old-golden-bolt-sets-sprint-record-misses-personal-best?amp