10 E-Z Tips for Active Aging

10 E-Z Tips for Active Aging Are you a baby boomer, older adult or someone who knows an older adult? I may or may not be in one of these categories. I’ll have to check with my actively aging mom. And that’s the point – to change the way we age and dispel the myths about aging.

If you want to age actively, consider the E-Z steps shared by Colin Milner of the International Council on Active Aging (out of Canada no less), which he recently shared with Fun and Fit. His Top Ten E-Tips encompass the seven dimensions of wellness – emotional, vocational, spiritual, intellectual, social, environment and of course, physical:

1. Check your Expectations

2. Be Enthusiastic

3. Maintain Energy

4. Ferret out what is zapping Energy and Eliminate it – junk food, inactivity

5. EXERCISE

6. Seek ongoing Education

7. Incorporate Enjoyment – a healthy life is a joyous life

8. Recognize and applaud your Efforts

9. Stay Engaged – with life, people, activities, community. Vounteer.

10. Take stock of your Emotions.

People today are expecting to live past 100, and who wants that second half to be limited? I know I expect to make it to 100, mainly due to my desire to see disco come back in fashion! Society has been slow to respond to the opportunities and issues that accompany this increased life expectancy AND expectations, and it’s a global challenge.

Interestingly, in a Yale study, it was discovered that having positive expectations and thoughts helped people live up to 7 years longer! As soon as I heard this, I decided to spend those 7 extra years concentrating (positively) on gaining another 7!

Are you aware that 69% of people over 50 exercise to gain energy? Sounds like opposite day, doesn’t it? But no, exercise does NOT exhaust you (unless you do crazy long hours per day); it actually energizes! I’m doing push-ups while writing this so I’ll have enough energy to finish!