A million thanks to all of you who so kindly completed my rather long Dynamic Ageing survey last month! I was thrilled by its success and reading your responses has been fascinating, and also very enlightening because it has given me a wealth of information about the challenges we all face as we grow older – whatever our age – how you cope with them, what lifts you up and gets you down, what areas cause the most concern, and really importantly, your mindset and attitude to progressing through MidLife and beyond.
The most encouraging and cheering aspect of the whole exercise has been the overwhelming optimism and confidence which most of you feel about the future of your health and life generally – as well as the acknowledgement of the wisdom and rich experiences which “eldership” brings. Yes, there was a pessimistic comment here and there, but the vast majority of the feedback was SO inspiring and uplifting. Pretty much everybody recognised that creating and/or maintaining good health as you grow older requires effort and awareness, ie it is essential to take care of yourself and lifestyle most definitely comes into it, and pretty much everybody expressed the willingness to do what it takes. And in fact I would like to share just a small handful of the life-affirming comments which really electrified my day! Some of them are an amalgamation of similar statements.
· Loving life – this simple declaration came up time and time again
· Brimming with life, staying active, busy with purpose and embracing new challenges and opportunities
· Finding solace in maturity and the wisdom gleaned from experience
· Open to new ideas and opportunities, fit in body and mind, always learning, leading a balanced and fulfilling life, loving the life I live, inspired by my purpose
· Doing new things, meeting new people and making new friends
· Being curious and actively engaged with the world and sharing my wisdom
· Empowered and impassioned
· Energetic, interested in lots of things, taking classes, embracing new ideas and challenges, travelling more
· Interested and curious, lots of hobbies and interests, lots of friends
· Vital, creative, adapting to change and time
· Travelling the world in my boat
· Still adventures to be had, places to go, people to meet, planet to be saved
· I keep my skills current, my outlook forward - for me that, and a positive, can-do attitude is what matters
· Brimming with vitality, travelling, meeting people, discovering new culture trends, learning something new!!!
· I never see age as a limiting factor
· Wonderful, satisfied, omnipotent because nothing is insurmountable
How does reading the above make you feel? It all certainly struck me as full of promise and youthfulness.
And how about the challenges? Yes, a number of them came up – and I personally recognised many of them. But certain issues really stood out: brain health topped the chart, with weight management, energy and vitality as well as joints and bones close behind. Others included skin, mobility, sleep, digestion, diabetes and menopause. So I have learned SO much from the survey, it has been absolutely invaluable, and I plan to address all these subjects in future blog posts and newsletters so watch this space!
Once again, a huge THANK YOU to you all for participating, I really appreciate the effort and time you put into answering the questions. And if any of you have any additional queries or want to comment further, please do not hesitate to email or message me.
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