Welcome to 2022! Live happier, healthier and enjoy a longer, more fulfilling Life.
This is a concept we can all embrace! With the inception of a new year, we wipe the slate clean and start over, hoping to make this a better year, and based on 2021, it most certainly should be. Living in Miami Springs gives us a leg up on the issues that contribute to those concepts. We’re in the ‘cat-bird’ seat here in our corner of the County. We’re small enough to appreciate the home-town civic groups that reach out and improve our quality of life. We appreciate the trees, birds and great neighborhoods. We know our neighbors and their dog’s names too! In other words, we’re in a good location here. The feeling we get as we enter the zip code from afar is better than that first lick of an ice cream cone. To be together as a community is a strong link in a wellness chain and individually, we could take some direction from people who have lived long, been happy and are enjoying a fulfilled life. There are 6 elements that healthy older people share, and I’d like to share them with you.
Have a Positive Outlook on Life: Love what you do. Persevere in the face of loss. Look forward to tomorrow. Attaining longevity is good if you can maintain a healthy attitude for living. Having to suffer through life is not the same as living a healthy long life. Stay away from negative people. Do something that will make you smile or be happy every day. Pass that smile along!
Be Altruistic: Take the noble selfless road and give back. Join a service group with the purpose of helping those less fortunate, the ill or infirm. Reach out to young families and senior citizens in need of clothing, food, or just a friendly face.
Have a Sense of Purpose: Have a reason to get up in the morning like engaging in community activities, being in a club, group or a regular lunch. Have good relationships not only with your contemporaries, but with younger people too. Don’t be a ‘loner’. Connect with supportive people and family and don’t be around those with a ‘gloomy’ outlook.
Have a Sense of Humor: Humor not only lets us cope emotionally, it also helps us to think creatively and enables our minds to keep active, which is one of the most important defenses we have against aging. It lightens our emotional load. Besides, you’ll be fun to be with!
Be Adaptable: If you cannot continue an activity to which you have become accustomed, either find a workable new way to do the activity or substitute a more manageable one. Learn the ability to control your environment and take charge of situations. Be happy with change. Change is constant.
Don’t Hold it in and Release Stress: Stress reduction programs and alternative approaches like Yoga, or a regular physical exercise program gives you a much better chance of coping with the mental and physical problems of older age. Adopt a pet. Negative or unhealthy feelings like anger, fear, guilt or sadness can lead to depression and anxiety. Promote feelings that contribute to well-being and try to not be pre-occupied with illness or death. Try to not get angry at the other drivers, they’re in the same traffic you are.
Diet, exercise habits and access to health care are important components to a long healthy lifestyle but they’re not the only things. Remember the 11th Commandment to Love and respect yourself.
Studies unequivocally show that having good relationships lengthens one’s life!
MAXIMIZE WHAT GIVES LIFE AND MINIMIZE WHAT TAKES IT AWAY
