Everyone wants to find happiness, yet many people find it elusive. Happiness is not a continuum; I am happy all day, every day, every minute. It is necessary to understand this, and once you do, it will be a lot easier to grasp the concept of happiness. Material things and possessions will not bring you happiness. Happiness comes from within, just like beauty.
With this blog series, I will try to guide you on finding happiness in your life by learning the different steps and probably changes that you need to follow to bring joy and meaning into your world. These blogs are not intended to be a self-help book, nor are they an “overnight cure.” Everything meaningful takes time; it is a process, so be patient, and with a little effort and focus, you will be able to achieve what everyone deserves, to live an abundant life.
People become concerned about aging and want to know what to expect, what to avoid, and ways to adapt at some point in life. Successful aging is a whole culture, and it’s possible if we approach it the right way if we know how to age with purpose. Age can be challenging to accept. Our bodies may not be able to do many of the things it did when we were younger. Bones can become brittle; aches and pains could become the norm. Our vision diminishes, our hair turns grey, and so on. These impact us psychologically, and more so within cultures that do not revere the elders, like most Western cultures.
Several studies have proved that people with a purpose beyond the self-reported higher life satisfaction experienced more gratitude, a sense of perspective, and empathy. Going back to one of my life philosophies: it’s all about balance.
So, what is life’s purpose? There are multiple ways to explain it, but in essence, life purpose consists of your life’s central motivating aims, that is, the reason you get up in the morning. Purpose can guide life decisions, influence behavior, shape goals, offer a sense of direction, and perhaps most importantly, create meaning in this blog’s context. Your life purpose is the key to creating a life that matters, a more meaningful life. You will feel wonderful when you are entirely “on purpose,” or instead, your purpose lights up everything you do. On the opposite side, you will feel awful when you are totally “off purpose.”
You may ask yourself, “how do I find my life purpose? I would say that finding your purpose in life is a life-long journey, and it’s okay to take it one step at a time, and don’t despair if it takes some time to get around it. I believe it’s an exercise of introspection. It would be best if you went deep within yourself. Life purpose could mean different things for different people. For some people, purpose is connected to vocation-meaningful, satisfying work. For others, their purpose lies in their responsibilities to their family or friends. Others seek meaning through spirituality or religious beliefs. Or it could be a combination of some or all of those. Whatever it is for you, it’s essential that you find it, that you discover it. The lack of purpose in life can attract negativity and lack of motivation or apathy; in other words, it can negatively affect your whole life.
Here are some questions you may ask yourself to start this process of discovery or rediscover your life purpose-remember. We keep evolving as we age, and therefore we may have to readjust or rethink our goals-.
Who am I?
Where do I belong?
Where do I feel fulfilled?
As I have just mentioned above, life’s purpose evolves. In the context of women in their 50s could easily mean a new beginning. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The end of a life phase or cycle is not the end of anything; rather, the beginning of a new, exciting step. It’s never too late to start again or to reinvent yourself and your life and the true meaning of it.
To make this process of discovery -if you still haven’t figure out what your life purpose is- it’s important to aim to what John Wallis Rowe and Robert Kahn call successful aging. In their eponymous book, published in 1987, the authors talk about three factors that should be involved in order to achieve successful aging:
- Being free of disability or disease.
- Having high cognitive and physical abilities.
- Interacting with others in meaningful ways.
If you need to make some changes in your life, start by changing your attitude. If you are a negative person, your body gets a surge of the stress hormone cortisol. Embrace this mantra: live positive, age positive. That is the key to wealth and health as you grow older. Celebrate your age, defy expectations, and grow friendships. Balance is critical; being out of balance can be enormously damaging. It is essential to learn how to stay in the present and live the moment.
The 5 amendments for successful aging
- Eat the right foods: fruit, nuts, almonds, broccoli, eggs, lean protein.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise. This one is paramount, and it’s key to both physical and emotional health. Do whatever works best for you but get moving!
- Get enough and quality sleep.
- Meditate if you can. There are multiple apps that can help you if you haven’t meditated before.
- Learn how to manage stress.
The key is to reduce anxiety and depression and get rid of your fears and insecurities. The 50’s decade is a wonderful time to start or continue to take care of ourselves, so 10, 20, or 30 years down the line, we will be thankful that we started the process of successful and positive aging.
I will be developing the concept of positive aging in future blog posts. I will also be giving advice and suggestions on how to achieve it. Stay tuned, and let’s get inspired!
