20 Surprisingly Easy Ways To Age Gracefully

"Old" has more to do with the way a person acts, thinks and lives than with a number. Pay attention to the age labels you stick on yourself.

Seemingly small things can stack up against us and before you know it, we will be one of the "elderly" -- regardless of our age. Because our words, thoughts and actions create our reality, decide today that you will change them if you have fallen into that old age trap. Are you ready to overturn years of thinking and being told -- directly and indirectly -- that you are less valuable as you grow older? It's never too late (or too soon!) to become ageless.

Here are things you can be doing to peel off the old age labels today.

1 of 19

Stop the Illness Talk

1 of 20

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Stop making illness a constant topic of conversation. This goes for illnesses of your own and those of others. Instead, talk about politics, the weather, your pets or long-term goals.

Reusable Shopping Bags Can Spread Stomach Flu Bug, Study Suggests

Mother's Day Weight Loss Success: Andrea And Michael Bunch Lost More Than 200 Pounds Together

Alonzo Trinidad, Phoenix 4-Year-Old, Doing Well After Being Impaled In Face By Drumstick

Fast Eaters May Have Higher Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Sleep Quotes: The Healthy And Unhealthy Messages They Send

My Gluten-Free Diet Disaster

Stop making illness a constant topic of conversation. This goes for illnesses of your own and those of others. Instead, talk about politics, the weather, your pets or long-term goals.

comments(27)

Total comments: 27 | Post a Comment

1 of 20

This Tip

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Leaves you feeling old as ever. Peels the years away!

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Top 5 Tips

loading...

Top 5 Tips

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

Pat Montandon founded the international foundation Children as the Peacemakers and has made 37 trips around the world with young children, meeting with world leaders in 26 countries. She is the author of six books, including "Whispers From God: A Life Beyond Imaginings." Read her blog on Red Room.

 

 

 

Comments

[logic-a-go-go]

12:25 AM on 07/21/2011

The members of my family that have the most energy, intellectual curiosity, and effervescence are all in their 70s. They make those in their 40s seem like lazy dolts. Anyone below the age of 70, knows that they can look forward to a great life for many decades, as a result of these wonderful older family members who leave us younger kiddos in the dust.

[mysteryshrink]

09:40 PM on 06/26/2011

This is really a good one. Remember how we used to dodge older relatives who insisted on updating us on their health problems?
barbaradeshong-mysteryshrink

[mysteryshrink]

09:37 PM on 06/26/2011

I saw a book in Barnes and Noble titled, Successful Aging. What? I didn't know you could fail. Then I remembered that getting older didn't necessarily mean a person had found a way of living that makes sense and brings joy.
barbaradeshong-mysteryshrink

[mzrecycle]

01:42 PM on 06/12/2011

I love your suggestion to get the medicine of the kitchen table! I vowed I'd NEVER do that. But now my memory is such that I need them out where I can see them so they get taken. Anywhere else would never work.

[yogajan]

12:58 AM on 06/12/2011

I really enjoyed reading this and found it to be very sage advise. At 72, I am still working and love it. May I offer a couple more to your list--yoga (it changed my life) and writing a memoir. Instead of living in the past, I am trying to honor my past and to leave a legacy to my grandchildren. While working on my memoir, I expanded it to studying geneology and my heritage.

TIme is very precious to me now and I do not want to waste it by being around negative people or negative causes. It is very freeing.

Thanks again for this article.

[detalumis]

06:36 PM on 06/11/2011

I would also suggest taking up weight training, not just doing things like low impact everything. You can actually increase your bone and muscle mass this way. I get really upset in my community where they have these 50+ exercise programs that you would think are geared to people in wheelchairs. My strength at 50 is much greater than what I had at 30 and it's kind of interesting to me to see how long I can maintain it.

[Healthwatch2010]

12:31 AM on 06/10/2011

Great Article!

[cadawa]

02:10 PM on 06/09/2011

This is advice for rich seniors. The rest have a war to fight.

[jstowe100]

08:17 AM on 06/10/2011

You make an excellent point. fanned and faved

Which is why any good advice we can follow for free, like much of the above, has to be jumped on.

We need to find things that we can take pleasure in, that are no or low-cost. That won't get rid of the struggle that things like living expense and health care have created for the elderly, but at least it's not an added burden.

[cadawa]

01:50 PM on 06/10/2011

Thank you for your support.
May I make a suggestion. Seniors should be educating themselves and organizing (forget the AARP. They are an insurance company) and use their golden years to leave behind a government that works for their chidren and grandchildren.

[impermanentlife]

02:10 PM on 06/10/2011

We need more activists instead of "aging gracefully"! There is nothing more beautiful than a person who has contributed the betterment of the social infrastructure in which they have lived. Think Gandhi...not particularly good-looking....not worried about aging....looked his age....remembered in this world forever.

[joyfulworld]

11:52 AM on 06/09/2011

I've known people who were really old in their 20s...and people who were really young in their 80s! It's a perspective thing. I love what Deepak Chopra said, "If you don't want to get old, stop believing in aging." Your body will only do what your mind tells it to do.

[mzrecycle]

01:39 PM on 06/12/2011

That comment by Chopra is cute, but I remember him in the '80's (he taught me the Bliss technique), and compared to back then, he's aged.

[joyfulworld]

03:36 PM on 06/12/2011

Probably because he believes in aging. But, really, he hasn't aged any 30 years worth. Aging is such a personal thing...I know a woman who had lovely long hair, but when she turned 25 she chopped it off because "that's what you do when you get to 25." Now that she is in her 60s her hair is gray and in silly short curls because "that's how you wear it when you get old." She bought into aging in a big way.

[prestonsturges]

11:03 AM on 06/09/2011

I figure that by 72 all the bugs are worked out and you can really start to have some fun! And remember to not take life too seriously, don't worry about what you can't change and have fun.

[lotusgirl]

10:06 AM on 06/09/2011

I love this article! I'm 45, and people always tell me how young I look. However, I can see the signs, but I'm just happy for each day I have. I could have died in several accidents, so that makes my perspective a little different. I spend each birthday with a prayer of gratitude that I have another birthday!

I think the key is to renew and update. Don't stay in the old stogy style. Stay with classics and update accessories and buy a few new pieces.

Also, just have fun. I'm not dating right now because I can't find anyone my age who is fun. I have so many responsibilities (guardian over my 81 y.o. mother, daughter going to college and demanding job), so anything that I have a choice to do must be fun!

Keeping a good sense of humor is probably the most anti-aging thing you can do. It's good for any age.

[DebbieNigro]

09:34 AM on 06/09/2011

Hey There Pat
Really enjoyed your article and slide show.

You are sooo right about "Old" having more to do with the way a person acts, thinks and lives than with a number. You suggested we pay attention to the age labels we stick on ourselves so I thought I'd share the label I stuck on myself ..."StillABabe"(SM) LOL

If a babe acts it, thinks it, lives it she will surely have more fun. Being delusional is truly therapeutic. All ageless babes who need an attitude adjustment are welcome to join me at StillABabe.com
"Still A Babe" ...It's An Attitude!

Debbie Nigro
Founder
Chief Executive Babe
StillABabe.com

[jstowe100]

09:02 AM on 06/09/2011

Pleasantly surprised by this! Every single suggestion is good advice.

[Megandale]

07:43 AM on 06/09/2011

Great article, thanks.

[50PlusSam]

04:21 AM on 06/09/2011

First and foremost is to change your personal mindset.
http://www.lifestyle-after50.com/lifestyle.html