How to age gratefully

I’ve known I need to make some changes and so I made a list of 10 things to focus on this year. I have a pretty thorough plan, but I don’t have complete control of circumstances that arise. I DO have control of how I handle them, though.

In just the past couple of weeks, since I’ve started to focus on my health, I’ve encountered quite a few things that could easily derail my focus. It’s very easy when things get complicated to take a break from taking care of myself and my needs.

That’s not healthy. I need to stay strong and healthy, particularly when life gets a little more stressful. I’m talking strong mentally, spiritually, physically and keeping my home in order, because that’s important to my sanity.

As I’m aging chronologically, my body and mind are aging, as well. Yes, I can ignore that and say that age is just a number, but reality is my bones and joints have endured a lot through the years, my mind does need a break from constant stressors, my digestive system has changed over the years, and it needs to be honored, and for me I have found that I need to adjust my 30 -40 year old eating and drinking habits. I can no longer eat what I want, slide by on 4 hours of sleep, and easily be at my ideal weight.

That may sound like complaints. I really try not to be a complainer. I tend to spin things in a positive light. But I can’t argue the facts. As much as I am going to do my darndest to age gracefully, I’m also going to age gratefully. (Grammarly is informing me that I may be confused by using the word gratefully–lol……”oh Grammarly, humor me here!”)

grateful: pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable or welcome; refreshing

I’m going to control my mind because my thoughts control my life!

I can feed my mind the right things and free it from destructive thoughts. Destructive thoughts could be a “woe’s me” mentality, a prideful mindset, or temptations.

The way that I control my thoughts is to spend some quiet time in meditation, focus less on me and more on helping and supporting others, and truly being grateful for where I am on this given day, no matter my situation. It’s not easy all the time.

There is much to be grateful for, would you agree? We can all find, even in our hardest times, something to be grateful for. A grateful journal is an idea of a way to get your mind focused on the right things, the things that bring you joy and hope even amidst challenging, or sad times.

There is much to be grateful for, would you agree?

In my quest to age GRATEFULLY, today I am grateful for:

• Friends that encourage me to live a healthy lifestyle
• A husband that tells me he thinks my age spots are cute
• My grandpa living a long and full life and recently passed on peacefully
• My grandma living longer and full life and passed on peacefully a few months later
• My Vitamix that makes it possible for me to get a lot of nutrients into my body….see we can always find something!
• My Doctor check-up that showed my first high BP reading ever, so that we can address it early
• My kids and the wonderful young adults they have become
• A large family of in laws that works together to address a medical need in the family
• The wisdom and ability to choose my battles wisely

I could go on. Tomorrow, I know I will find other things to be grateful for, no matter what the day may bring. I bet you can too!

Cheers to aging gratefully, friends!