I hate to be the bearer of bad news….
But if you’re reading this as a Gen X or Baby Boomer, technological advances permitting, we likely have less years left than already lived. 😳
In simpler terms, we’re edging closer to the great wooden overcoat.
Crikey Jo! Way to brighten my day…
Sorry, I realise that’s a pretty bleak way to start a post, but reframed this is actually a fantastic thing to be ultra aware of.
I am still what I would consider a young and spritely 51 year old, however, when I hit that half century button a couple of years back, a switch clicked in my head.
It’s not like I hadn’t noticed it before, but suddenly I became acutely aware of the hastiness of time.
It makes sense of course, that as we age we become more aware of our own mortality.
But rather than seeing this as a scary prospect, or getting depressed about what we haven’t achieved yet, we can use this consciousness of our dwindling years as a spark to ignite action!
Rather than just allowing life to ‘happen to us’, what if instead, we made a deal with ourselves in the depths of our souls to ensure we get the absolute best out of every coming year, no matter how many we think we have left.
You in?
Let’s do it!
Here are five powerful strategies to actively shape your weeks, months and years, rather than letting them just slip by;
1. Put Your Health First!
Strength training, walking, eating well, sleeping well and drinking lots of water are no longer negotiable.
Everything in our body is moving against us. Our muscles are shrinking, cells are dying, inflammation increasing etc.
You can no longer throw a cursory glance in nature’s direction and ask it to do it’s job, you’re literally going to have to go MMA on it’s ass and wrestle it into submission.
Put simply, if you want the best possible quality of life for as long as you can, put your physical health first.
2. What Would You Tell 30 Year Old You?
Take a minute to explore the lessons and messages you’d tell yourself if you were 30 all over again and knew then what you know now.
Would you tell yourself to do that thing you always wanted to?
Would you say go for your dreams?
Would you say take bigger risks?
Get specific and identify the things you’re not yet doing, but would tell yourself to do.
Then do those!
(As a flip, also imagine you’re 20 years older than you are now. What do you think you’d be telling who you are now to do?)
3. Live for Now
How often in your day do you stop to acknowledge the life your living is actually your life? (Stay with me here)
All too often we’re caught up in goals or dreams of the future.
Subconsciously we’re thinking, when this happens, then….
When I’ve made more money I’ll do….
When I’ve lost that extra few pounds I’ll….
When the kids have left home we’ll…
When I get my retirement pot I’ll…
But life is happening right now! Not tomorrow, or next week or a year from now.
This very minute, this exact second you’re reading these words. This is your life.
This becomes even more acute as we get older, so embrace it!
Embrace this moment. What can you taste, see, smell, hear, feel?
Rather than just a once a day gratitude practice, which, by the way, is an incredibly powerful method for living for now, why not just look up every once in a while through your day and make a mental note of what’s fabulous right now!
