You Just Might Live To Be Old Anyway

Posted on August 27th, 2008.

If you are new to my site, this article is part of an on-going series I host on my blog, called MID-WEEK MOTIVATION. Each Wednesday, I will post something of inspiration that will help motivate you in your efforts of becoming healthier. I invite anybody and everybody who reads my blog, to post a comment telling me and the other readers, exactly what your goals are for the rest of the week. We all know how hard it can be, to keep a health kick going… especially as the week progresses on… and my hope is that by telling others what your goals are, you will commit yourself and have the inner drive to keep on going. 

 

I have a feeling I’m going to live a long life.

 

Long living genes happen run in my family… take for example, my grandma who died when she was almost 90 and her husband who died at age 96. Of course, let me not forget my other, rather spunky, grandpa who died one week shy of his 100th birthday! His 100th!!

 

I can’t even imagine what it must be like to live 100 years, and to be honest, I think I’d be happy to move on at about age 85. However, statistics have shown that people are living longer and longer lives these days. This well known fact, combined with my family history of old age is something that keeps me EXTREMELY motivated to living a healthy lifestyle. 

 

My grandpa, (who died at 99 years old and was not on ANY sort of medication) was a very active, mobile and healthy man. He was independent and able to do most things for himself clear up until he was about 98. My three-year-old son and I would often go visit him at his care center while he ate lunch with the other residents. As I watched those cute little elderly people sit around the table and struggle to lift their spoon to their mouth, dribble soup down their chin, and barely be able to reach for their napkin, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would be like when I was their age. Would someone have to feed me and wipe my chin? Would I be dependent on someone else to help me to the bathroom? Would I be confined to a bed or a wheelchair? 

 

These thoughts really disturbed me for quite a long time. I became scared of growing old and living inside of a body that didn’t – or couldn’t – cooperate with what my spirit wanted to do. I imagined that it must be very depressing to live that way… and ended up deciding that as soon as I was unable to live independently, I would take up extreme sports – like sky diving, motorcycle racing, etc. etc. etc. 

 

Months later, I realized that I needed to change my outlook on getting old. That’s part of life and it’s going to happen whether I like it or not… so I might as well be positive about it right? I decided that rather than living in FEAR of growing old, I would do ALL I could possibly do, to TRIUMPH over getting old. 

 

I firmly believe that the reason my grandfather lived such a healthy, vibrant, long, and useful life – was because he treated his body the way all of us should. His backyard wasn’t your typical backyard. It was an acre full of plants bearing fruits and vegetables. Most of what he ate came from the earth. He wasn’t accustomed to processed foods, foods with high fructose corn syrup, foods containing a lot of fat… you get the idea. We couldn’t even get the man to use a microwave! 

 

My grandpa was also a very active man. He had to be – with a garden the size of his. Because he kept so busy and used his physical body so often, his muscles stayed strong, his weight stayed down, his ligaments were limber, his cholesterol was low, his blood pressure was great… basically, he was the epitome of health! 

 

So, why am I using this story for my MID-WEEK MOTIVATION blog entry? It’s simple… if you always keep the FUTURE picture of YOURSELF in your mind, you will have a strong desire to eat healthy foods and exercise your body often. The body you have been blessed with, has a LONG way to go still. If you treat it well now, it will treat YOU well later.

 

I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want some stranger wiping my bum when I’m old. I want to avoid that lovely situation for as long as I possibly can… and the way I can prevent it, is to EAT HEALTHY, EXERCISE OFTEN and BE KIND TO MY BODY.

 

If you are getting discouraged in your exercise routine – maybe because you are trying to lose weight, but haven’t lost much… or if you struggle with eating the right kinds of foods… HERE’S your motivation to NOT give up! Don’t allow yourself to have the “I don’t care” attitude. If you don’t care now, you will surely care when you’re 90! 

 

So what are you going to do? How are you going to be healthier? I want to hear your goals and commitments. Post a comment letting us know what YOU are going to do, to TRIUMPH over old age and enjoy longevity!

 

 

If you post a comment, don’t forget that you can SUBSCRIBE TO COMMENTS and see what others have to say.

Make a Comment

Make A Comment: ( 11 so far )

11 Responses to “You Just Might Live To Be Old Anyway”

Comments RSS Feed

Where's The Comment Form?