Ways to Stay Young in Health and Heart – Part 3

THE SECRETS OF STAYING YOUNG

STAY ACTIVE
Activity can be broadly defined as a state of engaging in some form of action. This activity could be mental, physical or even spiritual. Remaining active is the best way to pass time constructively. It will allow you to make good use of your time while giving you a sense of achievement. Activity could thus actually be defined as an aim oriented task.

If we carefully observe our own lives, we will realize that we act, talk or behave in a particular manner in order to ‘achieve’ something. For example, a student may study during exam times to ‘achieve’ a good score. Thus, human behavior is goal oriented and the attainment of such goals gives a sense of satisfaction to a person.

Activity is designed to cater to such needs of a person. Whenever you want ‘stay active’, you could be thinking about any one form of activity. You may wish to be mentally, socially, physically or spiritually active.

A hobby is a good way to start being active. Hobbies make use of the special ‘gifts’ that one may have. For instance, some people are gifted musicians while others are natural dancers. However, in every case, it is not necessary that a hobby can be translated into a career or a profession. In such a case, the next best way to develop it is by engaging in your favorite activity. This acts as a stress reliever along with giving you an innate sense of satisfaction. Hobbies allow us to connect with our internal self and this in turn gives us a sense of satisfaction. A content and peaceful mind is the key to staying young and happy.

Mental, social, spiritual, and physical activities are all tasks, which are designed to “use it or lose it.” You may be able to find activity in many different aspects of life. Simple mundane activities can also make up for activities. You may take up designing your living room and thus find a hobby in it. If you do not know where to start from, pay a visit to the local library. The library will have many interesting books that will provide food for thought. It will be a form of mental stimulation.

Though you may find that the collection in the library is so vast that you may require an entire lifetime to go through it, a start is just what you need. You can begin by reading the genre of books you find more interesting. What matters is that you occupy your free time sensibly. Do not waste your time and other’s time by complaining about every bad thing that has happed to you. Watching TV and sleeping at odd hours are not considered as ‘activities’.

BREAK AWAY FROM NEGATIVE THINKING

Negative thinking cripples the human mind and spirit. It is a problem that all of us share in common; each one of us tends to think with a pessimist’s mind. We often complain that we do not find the time to be ‘happy’, but the surprising part is, we have a lot of time to be’ sad’.

Often, we tend to ‘over think’ and that is what leads us to think in an unfavorable manner. Negative thinking seriously affects our attitudes and thus shapes our mental make up.

Negative thinking is unfortunately, a part of our daily lives. We live a life where we are ‘on the toes’ to meet dead lines and that is what adds on to the already prevalent pressures. This in turn increases our tendency to think negative.

Complaining is the worst thing you could ever do, every time we resort to a bout of complains, we are robbing ourselves of happiness. So, the next time you feel like complaining, stop yourself and judge the source of your complains with a neutral view. You will realize that what is worth complaining is not so bad after all. You will end up correcting bad habits and this will reduce your tendency to think negative.

One trait of negative thinkers is that they need to have the world ‘at their feet’. They are in the truest sense, childish at heart with very little maturity levels. When they fail to get what they want, they tend to think negative.

If you are one of them, it is the time for some serious introspection. You cannot perceive life from the viewpoint of a child; you need to develop a sensible and balanced approach towards the world around you. Negative thinkers are often bitter as a result of some past experiences. However, what they do not learn is the ability to let go and rectify a flawed perception. Such a perception makes a person act and behave more maturely than what he actually is.

The third most important source of such a flawed thinking style is the media. You can give them due credit for bombarding our minds with news on catastrophes, wars and other such sorrowful events. This information is absorbed by our subconscious self and shows up in your manner of thinking. When you think negative, you radiate a lot of negative energy in your comfort zones which contributes to a sort of contagion in the form of negative thinking.

It is vital for us to realize that the media is doing its job of giving a colorful representation of sordid facts in an attempt to ‘capitalize on the commercial viability’ of such events. If you feel news on disasters pulls you into a forlorn mood and ultimately affects your thinking, then you should seriously think about the amount of time you spend on watching such ‘ breaking news’.

Negative thinkers are known to be ‘mentally old’ since they have a preconceived pessimistic approach towards life. The manner in which one thinks seriously affects one’s health and thus, the onset of ageing process.

MAKE FRIENDS TO STAY YOUNG

Most of us know from personal experience that having a good circle of friends can make our lives happier and more meaningful. Research now shows that longevity also depends on these friend circles and people who are ‘friendly’ will in fact live longer! However, the same is not true of relatives; no direct correlation could be found between the presence of relatives in one’s life on the longevity.

In a 10-year longevity study of people above 70 years of age, researchers observed that a group of good friends is more liable to increase longevity in elder people rather than relatives.
Based on this study, researchers concluded that close relationships with children and relatives had very little effect on the rate of longevity for older people. People with a widespread network of good friends outlived those who had fewer friends by 22 percent. The positive outcomes of friendship on the longevity of people continued throughout the decade, despite the consequences brought about by profound changes in life. Making friends cannot be an activity that you will learn overnight. To stay young, you need to get out of your shell and face the world. Meet new people and try making new friends. A friendly person is always sought after, and thus looked upon as a jovial person. A cheerful person is known to live longer and stay young at heart.

While studies could not ascertain the cause for close friendships having a dramatic effect on longevity, the researchers came up with a number of suggestions powered by a sense of logic and observation.
Friends may encourage their older buddies to take good care of their health. They may persuade their friends to leave smoking or take a medical test. Friends may also assist the elderly people get through difficult times in their lives, by offering them emotional support. This acts as a coping mechanism that has a positive effect on their self-esteem.

A person who thinks positive invariably remains younger and happier at heart. A social network is necessary for man to grow in, and the presence of non-kin members makes a person develop a network, which is far removed from a feeling of bias.

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