July 12th, 2021
Tenacity: Discipline and Consistency
Tenacity, or determination, is necessary for success. It allows you to step outside your comfort zone and negotiate challenges … definitely not for the weak-willed! To succeed, you must be able to withstand the anxiety that comes with the possibility of failure. Margaret calls it “dancing on the skinny branches.”
Health and Happiness: Happier People Live Longer
Healthy living and healthy behavior choices can influence chronic diseases, morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. Mind and body relaxation techniques relieve the tension associated with stress and anger. Meditation creates an improved sense of calm and wellness as does religious and spiritual faith. Performing acts of kindness boosts moods. Close interpersonal ties and social support are also indicative of health and happiness.
Resilience: Recover Strength and Health
Powerful factors that contribute to physical and emotional resilience include physical activity, proper nutrition, emotional support, optimism, and volunteerism. Resilience improves function, relieves stress, decreases depression, and reduces the risk of chronic conditions, including diabetes and osteoporosis. Sharper mental focus and enhanced memory are additional benefits.
Inspiration: Stimulation of Mind or Emotion To Act
Inspiration can be random and unexpected. However, it is possible to set the stage for inspiration. For instance, many successful writers are very disciplined about their creativity by scheduling a regular time and place for creativity to occur. Understand and embrace the idea that little, if anything, is truly new.
For example, rather than copy ideas, Steve Jobs would expose his team to “the best things that humans have done” and then try to incorporate them into something unique of their own creation. Inspiration is the impetus, but just as important is the ability to see your ideas reach fruition.
Vitality: Physical and Cognitive Youthfulness
Maintaining vitality is the key to getting older without getting old. We each have the capacity to define the increments of age in our own unique way. Some people look and feel old at age 50, while others still have a bounce in their step at age 90. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Being active and getting regular, moderately intense exercise is probably the number one way to slow the aging process and improve vitality.”
At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking on most days, is important for cardiovascular health as well as burning calories. Equally important are muscle and bone strengthening exercises, using resistance two to three times per week, a healthy diet, and rejuvenating rest and relaxation.
Energy: Energy Begets Energy
Energy begets energy. Do more to do more; inversely, do less, and you create a vicious and downward cycle. Muscle mass declines steadily with age, so by age 70, you can lose up to 30% of the muscle mass you had at age 20.
A drop in muscle mass means a decrease in strength and an increase in fatigue. As muscles shrink, they become fatigued more rapidly. Your ligaments and joints become stiffer, so you move more slowly. You can compensate for these changes by exercising regularly: weight training increases muscle strength, and stretching increases flexibility.
You have to take care of yourself physically and mentally to maximize your life force. Eat and sleep well, keep learning, maintain a positive attitude, stay engaged and committed, be curious, be grateful, serve others, have sex, and wear a genuine smile, making you look instantly youthful and energized.
