This photo is fairly recent, everyone looks better upside down over 60!
The jumping off place for my blog topics usually comes from what’s going on with me right now. I like to explore those feelings through writing as it relates to me and perhaps others. Someone asked me last week what was the purpose of my writing and who do I think is attracted to my musings. My forever motivation in sharing my words (written or spoken) has always been a hope that they touch others hearts and spark a similar feeling or contrasting thought starting a conversation with themselves, friends or me. In fact, my entire fitness/coaching career has been based on attraction rather than sales.
Being a woman creeping towards 70 years old, I would make a bet that I am not alone in my dealings with the aging process, it’s acceptance and allowing myself forgiveness for no longer being young. I know to accept I am no longer young is one of the many things I have grieved in my life. Death is not the only loss that brings sorrow, anger, depression and the prayer that this is not really happening. In my experience, aging brings the same issues.
Each transition in my life has brought some kind of loss, whether it was freedom of just being a girl with few responsibilities to a mom with a precious life given to me to protect and raise. A friend told me that of all the decade changes, sixty was the toughest and a little alarm clock went off at 62, leaving her with a body that she no longer recognized. Being a 54 year old lifelong fitness trainer at the time, I laughed and thought, “The body can’t change just like that!”
Boy, was I wrong. No matter how much exercise and super food I have in my daily life, the clock still ticked, until the day my alarm clock went off. So, now what? I must admit climbing the hill to acceptance has been pretty long, the steep journey filled with missteps, slips and falls, yet with continued upward progress. Sometimes I know I can see the top, then it quickly disappears again.
The best component of my “aging” is the ever-expanding sense of wellness. Wellness in the sense of knowing everything works out (even better sometimes, if I get out of the way). Aging has brought feelings of smoothness about life issues that used to feel like a rollercoaster ride. Not sure how this happened, maybe it is just one of the gifts of counting down instead of counting up.
Here are 5 things I use to better deal with the aging process:
- What I am unhappy about can usually be improved (accepting rewinding has limits-i.e.”no returning to 35 year old Body by Janis“)
- Gathering information about choices (deciding how much time I am willing to spend on the choice)
- Weighing pros and cons with deep introspection (it is worth the time, expense, mental space)
- Taking risks if it feels right (checking in with my “older person” intuition)
- Don’t look back, just step ahead (no regrets, just more information)
These 5 ways of moving forward have always worked for me, no matter if it was about my career, my living situation, my writing, my sobriety, my body and my death. I like to spread all the possible choices out on the “table of my mind,” setting them on my shoulder for a while and when I am ready, boldly stepping forward.
After reading about my journey, what are your thoughts about your aging self? Please share them by commenting (your privacy is promised). This is a discussion that has a life of its own, why not join in? Write them here or contact me personally to further this discussion. I welcome you all.
One more thought! Most of you know I am a Lifetime Wellness Coach. If you are curious about how coaching might help you move through this phase of life, I am here to have a chat. Contact me through my website or the email below.
PS: Live Like You Can Women’s Meeting, July 2, 2016. Please come and join in the discussion topic of the month, 10:30am-12:00pm, Calzada de la Aurora, 19A, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I promise, as always, this conversation will ignite a spark and create an “aha” moment for you!
More info and discussion topic, email: janis@livelikeyoucan.com
