YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK!: A Positive Outlook is the Key to Healthy Aging
By Shirley Long, Parkview in Frisco, Collin County LIVING WELL
- Keep only cheerful friends. Have you noticed how frustrated and depressed you feel after talking with someone who complains all the time? The grouches pull you down. Stay away from them. (I often refer to them
as “emotional vampires” because they suck the life out of you!) - Laugh loud and often. Laugh until you gasp for breath; it is a great way to get oxygen into your lungs. And you feel so good emotionally after a good laugh.
- Be ALIVE while you are alive. Tears happen. Grieve, and move
on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. This may
sound harsh, but carrying grief or any other emotional trauma without
coming to terms with it only results in depression. - Surround yourself with lots of love.
Your home is your castle and your refuge. The things that bring you
pleasure should be near you, whether it’s friends, family, music, hobbies,
keepsakes, pets, plants, or whatever brings you joy and comfort. - Enjoy the simple things. Sometimes
we just make life too complicated. - Cherish your health:
If it is good, maintain it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond
what you can improve, get professional assistance. - Tell those you love that you love them. Take
advantage of every opportunity. - Don’t take guilt trips.
Trips are great fun if you are going to a place of interest…or even to
the mall. Travel anywhere you want, but NOT to where the guilt is. - Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes weight and age. Let health professionals worry about them —
that is why you pay them! - Never stop learning.
Learn more about gardening, crafts,
technology, the computer…whatever. Just don’t let the brain be idle. “An
idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” (And the devil’s name is
dementia.) - Keep moving. Inactivity allows
the body to weaken and grow frail. The saying “use it, or lose it” is so
very true. - Give. Remember, you can’t take
it with you. Give joyfully and often…it does your heart good! Give your
time. Usually giving yourself is more meaningful than giving money or things. - Believe and have faith. Faith gives you courage to
face trauma, grief and other burdens you will face at some point during
your life. Faith also gives you purpose. Develop a personal relationship
with God and live your life so that it brings joy and meaning to others.
You will reap many blessings in return. - Smile.
It makes people wonder what you
are up to! Seriously, you can’t feel bad when you have a smile on your
face. It changes your whole countenance. And a smile is contagious.
