When you were fifteen, did you spend much time thinking about what life would be like at thirty? In your twenties, did you pine away hours thinking about life at forty and your first grey hair? Even in our thirties, age seemed such an arbitrary thing; there was plenty of time left. But hit your forties and those first aches and pains of aging come at you with full gusto. Life no longer seems infinite.
So how do people like Madonna, Cher and Tina Turner remain active and beautiful well past their 'middle age?' I know the cynics among us will point to plastic surgery and drugs, but I believe that the answer lies far deeper...within our very souls. This is my plan to make the next forty-five years even better than the first.
1) Be true to yourself. The most amazing thing about this age is that by now most of us actually know who we are, what we believe in and what we want from life. Something that we lacked in our teens, twenties and perhaps even thirties. That alone is almost worth the pain of plantar fasciitis when we first step out of bed each morning. But I think that this presents a new challenge for the latter half of our lives...being true to that person. Just because we have reached this monumental milestone of the big four-zero does not mean that we are now immune to peer pressure, except as adults we call it...fitting in. It is the drive to have more stuff than our friends; the latest techno gadget, the hippest new fashion, the biggest television or the fastest car. This need to 'fit-in' though can be at war with deeper callings within us to be true to ourselves.
2) Remain active. Yes, I know...deeply and personally...that those aches and pains of sore muscles after a good work-out seem worse and take longer to fade, but studies show that those who remain physically active throughout their lives live longer and happier. Even things as simple as walking to the store instead of climbing into your car can make a difference to your health. Or perhaps invest in a bicycle if the store is too far to walk.
