The older I get, the more I realize that nobody really teaches us how to age. When we’re young, we spend a lot of time planning for our future, but not much time thinking about what it means to grow older.
Now that I’m in my 60s, I’ve been learning a lot about healthy aging. Some things have surprised me, and some things I wish I had understood years ago. While I can’t go back and change the past, I can share what I’m learning now.
Here are 10 things I wish I knew about aging earlier.
1. You Don’t Have to Be Perfect, Just Keep Moving
For a long time, I thought exercise had to be difficult to make a difference. What I’ve learned is that simply moving your body every day matters.
A walk around the neighborhood, a little stretching, working in the yard, or even cleaning the house all count. The important thing is to keep moving.
As I’ve started paying more attention to healthy aging, one thing I’ve learned is that what we eat can have a big impact on how we feel as we get older.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that being healthy is about more than just eating better or exercising.
One thing I will be paying more attention to as I get older is nutrition.
I’ll be honest. Exercise has not always been at the top of my list.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really means to age well.