As you age, you go through something of a dual change. On the one hand, you appreciate a whole new raft of things with wisdom that can only come from your years spent navigating life’s challenges. On the other, you can sometimes find yourself nostalgically looking back at your past with a longing for the vitality and energy of youth. It may be a challenge, but there is no reason you cannot combine your worldly wisdom with a new zest for life. All it takes are some simple lifestyle changes that you might be blinkered to in your current way of life.
Try New Things
That wisdom mentioned above is a product of having ‘been there and done that’ with most of life’s ups and downs. From relationship breakups to moving house, repairing an inner tube to controlling your finances, you’ve weathered enough storms so that you exist in a wide and enjoyable comfort zone. Youth and energy though come from taking yourself out of your comfort zone, and by trying new and exciting new pursuits.
It’s something you’re never too old to do, despite it feeling a little difficult to do, sometimes. All you need is an open mind and an inquisitive nature that will help you find new hobbies, new friends, new places and feelings that will return you to the busy world of youth. How about taking up calligraphy to write letters to old friends and family? Weekly swimming classes, French evening school, or a day learning how to cook Indian curries – try something new and you’ll get that buzz of out-of-you-comfort-zone fun once more.
Make an Effort to Exercise
Effective exercises – a word that all too often invokes a lot of hard work, sweat, occasionally blood, and almost always toil. You might find the concept of putting yourself through a good deal of physical pain (in the name of recapturing youth) quite tempting, though that’s not what’s recommended here. Exercise isn’t just marathon training and long sessions in the gym. It can be fun, social and not all that difficult, and it’ll breath fresh air into any lingering cobwebs you may have.
Your course of action is surely very independent to your friends, your passions, and even your locale. If you live by a lake, for instance, you have a range of water sports to consider getting into. You may have a close friend you’d like to have long rambling conversations with on long rambling walks or a family member who’s always wanted to sail. From lawn games to the likes of volleyball and badminton, there are more sedate forms of exercise that appeal to the older generation. Find your niche and go for it, you’ll feel younger for it!
Take Care of the Basics
Take a step back from your life and ask yourself – am I ensuring that I have got the basics absolutely sorted? We’re talking a good sleeping pattern (which means neither too little nor too much); a regular medication schedule, surf lifestyle blog, which will stabilize your metabolism; and, primarily, a balanced, varied and healthy diet. These basics are crucial to achieving the levels of energy that you will need to feel a youthful vigor coursing through your veins.
When it comes to sleep, you may have more time on your hands to indulge in deeper and longer sleeps. There’s plenty of research to suggest that over-sleeping is just as detrimental as getting too little sleep, so bear this in mind when considering your own sleep pattern. Then there’s food, which you may be a little sick of being advised about! However, shifting your diet to include more vitamins, minerals, slow-releasing carbohydrates and brain-bolstering super-foods will affect everything from energy levels to your overall mood, so don’t allow your diet to make you languish for long periods.
Drop Habits that Drag You Down
A repercussion of becoming more comfortable in yourself as you age is that you settle into the same old routine with the same habits that can range from productive, such as reading every night, or playing bridge weekly, to damaging. When it comes to the more damaging habits, this is the time to take a long, hard look at your day-to-day life, and consider what you’re able to drop out of your life to slowly increase your vitality.
There are some habits that you will be very publicly encouraged to drop – the likes of smoking and drinking, which your doctor will have advised you about. When it comes to drinking, it can be easy over the years to slowly slip into a regular pattern of over-consumption. If this is perhaps the case for you, navigate ambrosia treatment center for discreet and understanding rehabilitation services. The wonderful thing about eliminating bad habits is that a month or two down the line you will be amazed at how much better you feel for it, both in body and mind. Be strict with yourself and reap the youthful benefits in the long-term.
Live Vicariously Through Young Ones
If you are lucky enough to have young grandchildren, you have an absolutely wonderful route to youthful joy and naivety at your fingertips, as you’ll surely know. Their playfulness, boundless energy, and brazen curiosity are more than enough to galvanize your own dormant reserves of carefree fun, in their own company, playing silly games, or through their stories, they relate to you.
They might leave you tired out by the end of the day, but entertaining young people brings you instantly down to their level, from which you will ‘wind back the years’ psychologically, releasing energy you may not have know you had. Never pass up opportunities to spend time with young people – they don’t just remind you of what life is like through younger eyes, they will give you the glasses through which to see it, for a while at least. Keep learning new things and live simple life.
Life’s a wonderful journey from bewildered awe in everything to an experienced comfort and knowledge that brings its own joys and pleasures. If you’re looking to recapture some of the essences of youth, having reflected nostalgically on your past, then know that it’s far from impossible – simply use some of these tips as a guide to bring you into contact with your younger self once more.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
