HOW TO GROW OLDER AND BE HAPPIER
- Written by Eric North aka “The Happiness Warrior”
“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.” —George Burns, American comedian, actor, and musician
I remember a time when I didn’t think I’d live to fifty. I had lived a fast, sometimes too exciting life in earlier decades and had put that all behind me. I was extremely grateful to be alive, felt excited and energized about my future and its opportunities. My forties had been a period of renewal, redemption, and reinvention and I felt prepared and ready for anything that lie ahead. I felt a newfound sense of self-mastery and self-awareness and was looking forward to my making my fifties my best decade yet. I knew that I had discovered my intentional purpose and focused on continued entrepreneurship, leadership, and both personal as well as spiritual growth.
At the time, I felt much younger, sexier, and full of life than I knew I was “supposed” to feel at fifty. I had developed a strong, focused, and self-disciplined approach to everything I did. I was bursting with energy to show the world how aging could be celebrated and something everyone could look forward to. I vowed to make the most of my next decade and began to share my journey through my new Instagram brand as @50redefined. My mission was straight-forward: “aging is a mindset of wisdom and empowerment”. My story focused on the freedom to express our true selves without fear of judgment, apology, or remorse. Growing older means to no longer caring about what others think about us, but to care about what we think of ourselves with honesty and authenticity.
At fifty, I began to truly know myself and was just beginning to understand the scope of my abilities. I began a conscious journey to expand my life-experience and wisdom to make the most of my life and be able to give back to help others. My curiosity was greater than ever and my thirst for new experiences, connections, and learning was unstoppable. My fifties would not only be a great accomplishment, but something to be enjoyed! I was going to do my best to change the perception of aging so life would be happier, more fulfilling, and magical than ever before.
My fifties were going to be great because I was going to make them great!
There’s a simple truth in the phrase “growing older is a privilege” and not all of us are fortunate enough to make it. I believe that growing older is a huge accomplishment and with a positive mindset we can make our lives so much more, with greater happiness and value. This requires a change in mindset and strong sense of self-awareness, and belief in ourselves.
Getting older is rarely celebrated as much as it could and should be in our ageist society. We’re continually bombarded with “humorous” messaging about being over the hill, half-dead, useless, irrelevant and unseen. However, facts and science tell us that older people tend to have more personal strength, feel less distracted by negative influences, are more productive, and are happier. When we age, we begin to know who we are. We feel our power in newfound ways with much more freedom of expression than we allowed ourselves when we were younger.
“As I started getting older, I realized, ‘I’m so happy!’ I didn’t expect this! I wasn’t happy when I was young.” —Jane Fonda
Studies have shown that people become happier as they age. There’s an actual science-based happiness curve that finds us leveling out at 47 with our happiness rising and growing from there.
Things can get better mentally, and we generally feel better about ourselves when we age and have more understanding about what’s most important in our lives. One recent study of people aged 21-99 found that people who were older in life were happier, more satisfied, less depressed and have less anxiety than the younger population.
As we age, we gain wisdom, which also includes more empathy, self-awareness, openness to new ideas, greater decisiveness, ability to control negative emotions, and the ability to make better social decisions. We become more trusting and less disappointed with others and better able to see the best in people. Older adults generally take better care of themselves, obesity rates drop, and have better access to mental and physical health solutions.
Older people can be more physically more disabled and had more cognitive impairment than younger people which is the natural process of aging. However, in mental health, the advantage is greater as we age. People in the mid-twenties to mid-forties have the highest levels of depression, anxiety and stress and the lowest levels of happiness, satisfaction, and wellbeing. Older people, on the other hand, were the happiest and most fulfilled with their lives.
HOW WE AGE IS A CHOICE
Just before turning fifty, I took inventory of my life. I was happily married, a successful entrepreneur, and in the best physical condition of my life. My forties had been an incredible period of growth, but I still wasn’t as secure and at ease with myself as I wanted to be. With this awareness, I began a conscious journey of spiritual exploration and personal growth.
My new brand @50redefined resonated with a lot of people and I began to use it to help redefine our culture’s expectations of what it meant to turn fifty. At the age of fifty, I had just signed a contract with a modeling agency in NYC and was excited about new opportunities, finding a renewal of ambition that fueled my intention and growth. My younger years, while exciting at times, were dangerously fueled by impulsive decisions, destructive relationships, and an uneasy feeling that I was moving too fast and not able to feel peace or happiness in any meaningful way.
My new identity as @50redefined resonated with a lot of people both young and old and I felt like the world was watching, so I set out to be best role model possible. I challenged old ways of self-defeating thinking and shared my experience and the benefits of personal discipline. Changing how we see ourselves in a positive way as we get older became my mission!
AGING-THE BODY/MIND CONNECTION
1. Take care of your organs and skin, drink water throughout the day, especially first thing in the morning
2. Vigorous exercise every day, 30 minutes of fast walking is the most beneficial
3. We are what we eat. Understand what your body needs to benefit and thrive. Learn to nourish intuitively based on performance needs and activity levels for the day. Eat a balanced diet of nutrient dense and avoid fad diets that are “popular” this year.
4. Learn to give yourself permission to be happier for mental hygiene.
5. Stay active mentally and physically.
6. Have quality friendships instead of quantity and remove negative influences.
7. Age with gratitude. More gratitude equals more happiness.
8. Learn something new every day and do things that scare you.
9. Lower stress and identify its sources.
10. Get at least 6 hours of sleep, ideally 8--lack of sleep can cause depression, weight gain, dementia, and other physical problems.
11. Practice mindfulness and self-awareness
12. Hydrate
13. Stretch for mobility and quality of life “Stretch Your BodyStretch Your Mind”.
14. Have regular physical and dental checkups.
15. Get a dog or a pet!
INTENTIONAL HAPPINESS THROUGH AGING
Mindset and momentum are what sets our intention for aging. Mindset is a powerful tool and is unique in all of us. There are no rules, find what works for you and live your truth as you age and find happiness and peace. Life gives us choices at every turn, learn to love who you are, and you will love yourself more as you age. Your as old as you feel, be your own best friend and set the example!