5 Keys to Ageless Living

Recently I watched a video of 91-year-old Sy Perlis of Surprise, Arizona set a world record bench press for his age group. The previous record of 135 pounds was set in 2005. Sy grabbed hold of the bar and with spotters around, people cheering, as well as his trainer; he pressed 187.2 pounds into the record books. That smashed the previous record by over 50 pounds! Perlis stated, "I got a lot of satisfaction out of it, and it made me feel good, and it was good for me." He started training at 60 years old and started competing at 86.

After seeing what Sy Perlis is able to do and how youthful he is, it disheartens me when I start hearing much younger people complain of how old they are. They say they can't do this or that anymore. Many times that mindset starts in a person's late 20s. Even among my friends I hear things like, I'm now 30 and getting old. I'm thinking to myself, "30 is old?" Back when I was younger, the motto was "don't trust anyone over 30." We thought that 30 was old back then. Today, I see many of my fellow Baby Boomers acting and feeling old. They seemed to have succumbed to it. That doesn't have to be you.

Today, I am challenging everyone to take a page from Sy Perlis and start living an ageless life. Live one of youthfulness. Here are five keys that will help get onto that path:

1. Focus on living a life of purpose. Ask yourself, "What is my reason for being?" "What is it that I can focus on that gives me purpose?" Henry David Thoreau once said, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." I would add women to that mix too. The majority of people will go through life with no purpose to it. Don't you be one and if you are, change. Have passion your whole life for life.
2. Stop the negative stereotypes of aging and start acting more youthful. That includes getting into exercising more. In a January 2011 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that walking speed is an accurate predictor in how long a person is going to live as well as the quality of life. I would add that stride length is a part of that too. In my case, and as a Baby Boomer, I also engage in Parkour/Free Running, Natural Movement and the martial arts as a part of my overall fitness training. Heck, playing like a kid is okay too.
3. Challenge yourself mentally. Learning something new is important for optimal aging and youthfulness. Going back to school, offline and online, will go a long way to keeping your brain healthy.
4. Eliminate emotional/mental stress from your life. Realize that a certain amount of stress will be there. You can do things that help to eliminate it. Mindfulness meditation, tai chi, and other mind-body practices are great at reducing distress. Learn to stay more in the present.
5. Know that change is part of living and life. Don't get hooked in wanting to live in the past. Growth only occurs when you accept change. A part of that change can even be with the people in your life. Dick Van Dyke once said that he doesn't like hanging around people his own age because they act old. By associating with younger people in both mind and body, you'll go a long way to creating and maintaining youth. By the way, feeling youthful is not the same as acting like an adolescent.

You can live a fully functional and optimal life at any age. It starts with your attitude. If you really want to, then you will. Believe it and do it. And keep doing it until you can't anymore.

Learning and growing in all aspects of living an optimal life is important. Finding the right experts is important for you to get to where you want to get to in life. Whether it's in health, confidence, a purposeful life or more... Build up your own ability in life from the kind of learning that will help you in different areas... They can be in work, personal, relationships, leadership, fitness, nutrition, health or any area that will get you to a life of happiness and purpose.