Put Old on Hold

The Baby Boomer Generation is a source for trends, research, comment and discussion of and by people born from 1946 - 1964.

Put Old on Hold -- Start Now
By Barbara M. Morris, R.Ph.

Is it possible to avoid premature mental and physical decline? Is it possible to reach age 60, 70 and beyond and feel and function like a healthy 40- or 50-year-old? Absolutely. Gerontologist Dr. John W. Rowe says how well you age is 70 percent lifestyle choices and 30 percent heredity and environment. That 70 percent gives you incredible power to control how your life evolves.

This is how to fight 'old age' and win:

Putting Old on Hold begins with loving yourself, valuing yourself, and appreciating that your body is the only one you will ever have. In a spirit of gratitude decide right now to keep it in peak condition and be an asset to yourself, your family, and society. Diet, exercise and a defiant, independent, can-do youthful attitude are 'power tools' you must use.

Steps to take right now:
-- Develop a vision of how you want to be at a given age. Stay focused and committed. Believe you can do it and be willing to do what it takes to win.
-- Educate yourself about what constitutes an anti-aging lifestyle. It's not too late.
-- Find a traditionally trained physician with expertise in anti-aging medicine and nutrition to guide your progress.
-- Engage in rigorous positive mental management. (No more "I must be getting old" when you experience a momentary memory lapse).
-- If possible, do not choose traditional retirement. It's the fast track to decline. The mind and body were not designed to lie fallow. Use it or lose it.

And think about this -- often:

Remember a time in history when the most respected scientific minds in the universe declared the earth was flat and everyone believed it until someone sailed into the horizon and proved this irrefutable'truth' was false?
Many widely held beliefs about ãgetting oldä have about as much validity as the earth-is flat theory.

Freedom, Choice and Opportunity

If lines are invading your face and your hair is getting gray, please understand that this is not all about 'looking young,' -- it's about freedom, choice and opportunity! It's about getting to age 60, 70 and beyond and feeling and functioning like a healthy 40- or 50-year-old. You can go back to school, start a new career or a new business. When you have your physical and mental health, you can have it all.

Putting Old on Hold is about freedom to work, allowing a more carefree lifestyle. Existing on a tiny retirement check is not always fun. It is freedom from fear of becoming a victim of physical, emotional or financial abuse. When you are mentally and physically strong potential abusers will think twice about trying to take advantage of you.

It is giving your Boomer-age children the greatest gift of all: Freedom to enjoy their own lives without having to worry, "Will we have to put mom in a nursing home," or "Will she have to come live with us" or "Will we have to help pay her living or medical expenses."

In the past century, the American life span has increased by 27 years. How will you enjoy your bonus years?

You have the power to Put Old on Hold, a power long suppressed by tradition and outmoded conventional wisdom. You havethe power to defyconsensus thinking and behaviors perhaps held by your immediate family or social circle; outdated thinking that says you must succumb to physical and mental deterioration as the years pass. Right now, declare your freedom from the earth-is-flat impossibility thinking and decide to stay healthy, productive, and ageless as long as you live.

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Author of Put Old on Hold, Barbara Harris' message is for Boomers who want to feel and function as a healthy 40- or 50-year-old for 25 or more years. She calls it 'Liberation Living' -- a process she has discovered that bypasses infirmities and indignities of traditional old age.