👴🏻👵🏻What does aging look like to you?

What if getting older isn't the problem... but how we THINK about getting older?

I listened to a fascinating podcast recently with Dr Rangan Chatterjee and neuroscientist Dr Tommy Wood about protecting our brains as we age.

And one of the first things they discussed really grabbed me:

How we think about ageing may actually influence how we age.

One long-term study followed people over 50 and found that those with more positive perceptions of ageing lived, on average, 7.5 years longer than those with more negative perceptions.

Now, before we all start chanting "I'm young, I'm young, I'm young!" in the mirror, this isn't about pretending ageing doesn't happen.

It's about challenging the belief that getting older automatically means becoming weaker, slower, less capable and less useful.

Because that's simply not the whole story.

In fact, another fascinating piece of research found that when we look beyond things like reaction speed and consider experience, emotional intelligence, knowledge, reasoning and other psychological skills, our overall functioning may actually peak around 55–60.

I LOVE this.

And it fits so closely with what I believe about physical ageing too.

Your body adapts to what you ask of it.

Stop challenging your muscles and you'll gradually lose strength.

Challenge them and they can adapt.

Keep practising balance and you'll get better at balancing.

Keep moving and your body retains its ability to move.

Getting older is inevitable.

How we approach getting older is something we have far more influence over.

So rather than thinking...

"Well, I'm getting old..."

Perhaps try:

"What can I do now to help future me?"

Lift something. Move your body. Learn something. Challenge yourself. Manage your stress.

And stop writing yourself off because of the number on your birthday cake.

You've potentially got some of your best years ahead of you.