Are You Young At Heart? by @DonnaFaz

Do you feel as old as your birth certificate claims you are? I don’t. I feel young at heart. In my head, I feel I am about half my real age, and I often marvel when I write down my birth year. No way, I tell myself. I am not that old. I believe each of us is an average of three “ages.”

Chronological Age: This is the age that is dictated by your date of birth. Are there eighteen candles on your birthday cake? Thirty-seven? Eighty-two? There’s nothing we can do to diminish the number of years we’ve been alive. (Well, nothing we’d want to do, anyway. A visit to the undertaker is something everyone wants to put off as long as possible.) Our chronological age is concrete and unchangeable.

Biological Age: This is the age of our physical bodies. How well do your lungs work? Your heart? Your muscles? How much extra fat do you carry around? There are lots of things we can do to keep our bodies younger. Physical activity, aerobic exercise, strength training, stretching, yoga—all these things will help keep your body fit and lower your biological age. You don’t have to do them all, but keeping active is very important. Eating fresh, nutritious food is another good way to give your brain and your body what it needs to feel young.

Psychological Age: You might not believe it, but how and what you think affects how you age. Are you curious about life? Do you love to learn new things? There are plenty of ways to enrich your psyche—learn a new language or skill, travel, take a dance class, read good books, listen to music, cook a new recipe, meditate, develop a rich spiritual life, go out of your way to meet new people, smile and love more, frown less. Cultivate confidence by making a What Makes Me Unique list. Learn to forgive; the anger it takes to hold onto a grudge can contribute to cardiovascular disease and a weakened immune system. Avoid negative thoughts and live from a place of gratitude. Learn to let go of the things you can’t control. I’m sure there are many other ways to keep a healthy mind and attitude. If you have some ideas, please share in the comment section.

As many of you know, I’ve been exercising regularly for about a year now. I’ve dropped some weight and I’m feeling so much better. I’ve never lost my curiosity, I always loved to learn new things, I laugh often (especially at myself), and I stay positive as much as possible. Because I’ve worked on lowering my biological and psychological ages, I’m sure that’s why I don’t feel my chronological age.

For those of you who don’t remember the classic song YOUNG AT HEART, it was sung by the unforgettable Frank Sinatra. He was famous during my father’s era. The lyrics include some great messages:

~  ~  ~

Fairy tales can come true, 
it can happen to you
If you’re young at heart.
For it’s hard, you will find, 
to be narrow of mind
If you’re young at heart.

Don’t you know that it’s worth

every treasure on earth
To be young at heart.
For as rich as you are,

it’s much better by far
To be young at heart.

~  ~  ~

So tell me, what do YOU do to stay young at heart?