Feel Young Again this Summer

Just because you are aging, does not mean you can’t be young at heart. With a willing spirit, there are an unlimited number of ways a person can feel young again. Here are ten great ways for you to feel young again.

1. Volunteer in Your Community
What better way to feel good than by volunteering in your community? Offering your time and talents help uplift your spirits. It's actually been shown that by focusing on others, your own challenges seem smaller. Not to mention, you’ll learn new skills and meet new people.

2. Join a Club
Join a club so you can socialize with people who have similar interests. As times goes on, we don’t always keep up with old friends. So joining a club of a particular interest or new interest puts us right in the center of a crowd. You’ll be socializing like a butterfly in no time.

3. Take a Class
You’re never too old to learn something new. Go back to college and get your business degree, take a social media course offering at the library, or stay at home to learn a new language right on your PC via Youtube.com. If you have a wealth of knowledge on a particular subject, become an instructor! There are many ways to teach, be it at a local college/university, community center, or online learning environment.

4. Start a New Hobby
If you’ve already mastered sculpting or restoring cars, challenge yourself by taking it up a notch. Are you tired of your son going to the golf course every morning? Ask if you can tag along and learn to play. If your daughters are going to play tennis before your afternoon tea, pick up a tennis racket and start practicing. Just try it! You never know what you'll grow to truly enjoy.

5. Pamper Yourself
You can feel young again by pampering yourself in any way. You don’t necessarily need to take yourself to the spa or get your hair done. Do something for yourself that you enjoy. Sleep in on a Monday, take yourself out for ice-cream, order yourself some flowers, or buy a new outfit. Sometimes it only takes something new or tasty to put an extra spring in your step.

6. Start an Exercise Program
Exercising is very rejuvenating and will help you look and feel young. Exercise helps reduce stress, so you can look forward to fewer lines and wrinkles. Your circulation will improve, and blood pressure will regulate. You don’t even need to hit the gym 5 days a week. Most specialists will suggest a light routine of exercising 3 days a week. Short walks, water aerobics, and bicycling are all excellent light exercise routines several times during the day or all at once. The more active you become, the younger you’ll feel.

7. Enjoy Your Grandchildren
There is no better way to feel younger again than spending time with the younger crowd. Make time for your grandchildren whenever possible. Younger kids usually want to go to the park and play on the swings and jungle gyms or play video games or boardgames. If you peek their interest, they may also be up for a nature walk or fishing. These are ways to create great memories and be a cool grandparent.

8. Go Travel
You’ve worked hard all your life, now it’s time to enjoy the world. If you’re not keen on being away too far from home, start off local for a "stay-cation". There are plenty of beautiful and intriguing historical landmarks in your state, many of which offer bed and breakfast stays. This can make for an exciting or relaxing weekend away that you and your loved ones need. Make sure to use your AARP or other senior discount option for an economical trip. If you don’t have friends and family to travel with, consider joining up with a senior travel tour group. They have local and overseas destinations already planned and waiting for you to join.

9. Add a Touch of Romance to Your Life
Do you remember that glow you had while dating in high school or the jitters you felt before asking a girl out on a date? Relive those moments again and ask that special someone out. Romance keeps us young no matter if it’s new, seasoned, or a rekindled flame.

A few ways you can add a touch of romance to your life include:

• Write your loved one a love letter
• Have a candlelight dinner
• Visit your first-kiss location again
• Attend a drive-in movie or movie in-the-park
• Give a handmade gift or custom handmade gift on Etsy.com
• Slow dance to your song

10. Have Fun
Finally, don’t take everything in life too seriously. Laughter is the best medicine, after all. Get silly and do things you normally wouldn’t engage in. Have a snowball fight, resolve disputes via rock-paper-scissors, play hide-and-seek, or beat the grandkids in their favorite video game.

There are so many ways to make yourself feel young again. Most of them require little effort on your part. Doing one or two a week will certainly show off the new and improved you!

Aging: What's Your "Age of Potential"?

There have been many revaluations over the last century, however none as significant as the Longevity Revolution. This past week was my birthday, which got me reflecting on that thing called, life.

In America, we are living on average 38 years longer than our great grandfathers*. That’s an entire second adult lifetime, added on to our lifespan. Yet, our culture has not yet come to let go of stereotypical slangs like, “blue hair”, “geezer” or “BOOF”. We’re still living with the old perspective of age as an arch; you’re born, you peak at midlife, then you decline into decrepitation.  This view stems from the notion that age is merely pathology.

The Longevity Revolution however, has shed light on these last three added decades, some calling it the “third act of life”. Slowly scientists, doctors, and researchers are coming to the realization that this is actually a developmental stage of life with its own significance. As different as midlife is to adolescence, and adolescence to childhood. So what about the average person? What about you?

We should all be asking, how do we make good use of three more decades of life?  How do we live the third act successfully?

As you may know one of the fundamental laws of the world is the second Law of Thermodynamics; entropy. Entropy means that everything in the world is in a constant state of decline and decay. There’s only exception to this universal law and that is the human spirit. Take instances of joy: the fall of the Berlin wall, Armstrong walking on the moon, Jackie Robinson joining the major leagues. Now take instances of sorrow: Nine-eleven, fall solders from the invasion of Iraq, the Vietnam War. Both bear stories of heroism, growth, and unity.   

Likewise, your spirit can continue to evolve with age into wholeness, authenticity, and wisdom.

So I propose a slight twist in the way we view age. Instead of thinking, “I’ve lived so many years”, look at how many years you have left to make a difference, learn a new skill, or contribute to your community. A 75-years-old female now has 16 more years to do great things. A 60-year-old male now has 24 more years to do great things. Age then turns from pathology, into potential.

What is your "Age of Potential"? You may just have an entire lifetime ahead of you to do and be great.

*Average life expectancy according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC):

In 2013: 86 female, 84 males

In 1900: 46 female, 48 males