Me, again, waiting for James to come out from his NM Cancer Center follow-up appointment, where masks are mandatory. News is so far, so good!! I am over the moon about it. We'd also just come from his Myasthenia Gravis follow-up appointment with his Neurologist, and it looks like he's probably in remission! It was a great day for encouraging news on the health front. Today, it's my turn, and I'm having an office visit with a new PCP to check her out. I'm very hopeful she'll be a great fit. Fingers crossed. Having quality health care is a must as we age.

Longevity: What's Your Mind Got to Do with It?

There was a study in 1968 of exceptional older adults in Holland who had successfully mastered the aging process. These wise elders had these characteristics:

• handled stress incredibly well
• were essentially optimistic and looked on the positive side
• had a sense of self-sufficiency
• were funny and had a good sense of humor
• enjoyed life and saw it as a great adventure
• were PRESENT and interested in something outside of themselves
• exercised daily
• meditated and prayed
• moved toward future positive outcomes
• able to reframe seemingly negative situations
• had valuable relationships and learned from different people
• had regular medical tests and took care of themselves
• were mentally flexible
• focused on what was possible rather than what wasn’t

Aging is not a disease; it’s a normal stage of human life. It’s how we THINK about aging that makes it a problem. If we believe the thought viruses prevalent in our society, we will look for those so-called problems of aging. Our mighty minds will create the very issues we fear.

We have in our brain something called a reticular activating system. Its’ job is to filter our experiences to support what we THINK. For example, if you're driving somewhere, you start to think, I don’t want to hit any red lights, you’ll notice you hit almost (if not every) red light.

If you buy a black car, you’ll suddenly notice every black car on the road when previously you didn’t even notice them. This means you need to have a positive mental attitude; see problems as challenges to be met and overcome rather than insurmountable issues.

I love what Tom Hoobyar says, “Youth is a gift, designed primarily to encourage reproduction. But the advantages of aging are not a gift. The benefits are there, but we must work for them. We must constantly ask ourselves, "What's the meaning of this? How can this be useful and uplifting?"
…We can provoke and inspire others who follow us in life's path, sharing our insights and reassuring them that life CAN get better as we age.

It's the only way that getting older is any more rewarding than just beating the grim reaper for another day. And I think that life is designed to get better and better until our time is over.”

Throughout life, the brain has the ability to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences.

At the molecular level, social and intellectual experiences have an impact on the function of your brain. So, you CAN transition from old habits to new, healthier ones.

Focus on asking for what you want rather than what you don’t want. It will make a world of difference in how you live your life. You can choose joy, or you can choose pain – your choice.

What choices have you made lately that are not in alignment with what you want? Are you ready and willing to make them?

COOL RESOURCE

This is a very cool NLP process you can do for yourself called The Circle of Excellence.

It's very useful when you want more confidence, say when you have a medical appointment and want to be sure you are heard.

Relive Confidence Stand up and let yourself go back in memory to a time when you were very confident and when you had a strong inner sense of confidence. Make sure it’s one you enjoy reliving. Pretend you are back in that situation. Fully relive that moment, seeing what you saw, hearing what you heard, and feeling what you felt in your body.

Circle of Excellence As you feel the confidence building in you, imagine a colored circle on the floor approximately two (2) feet in front of you.

What color would you like your circle to be? Now, give it that color.

Would you like it to also have a sound you consider powerful associated with it?

Now, give it that sound.

When that feeling of confidence is at its fullest, step into the circle, knowing that this circle contains everything you need to be fully confident. Now, fully experience that confidence.

Step out of the circle.

Selecting Cues Now, think of a specific time in your future when you want to have that same feeling of abundant confidence. See and hear what will be there just before you want to feel confident. Be sure the cues occur just before you used to begin to feel apprehensive.

The cue could be the door to the Doctor’s office, the Receptionist, etc., or even earlier.

Linking As soon as you become aware of these cues, step back into the circle and feel those confident feelings again. Now, imagine that formerly troublesome situation unfolding around you in the future with these confident feelings fully available to you.

Check Your Results Now step out of the circle again, leaving those confident feelings there in the circle. Outside the circle, take a moment and think again of that upcoming event. You’ll find you automatically recall those confident feelings.

This means you’ve already been successful in pre-programming yourself for that upcoming event. You’re feeling better about it, and it hasn’t even happened yet. When it arrives, you’ll find yourself naturally responding more confidently.

INSPIRATION

I WONDER IF YOU KNOW

I wonder if you know,

the work your body has done today.

And every day.

How much disease it has fought off.

How many times it could have failed but battled on,

how many ways it could have broken but did not.

I wonder if you know,

the work your body has done today.

And every day.

And each day it has done this amazing job,

without your help,

without your approval,

your acceptance,

your kindness.

Each day it has soldiered on,

regardless of the constant stream of negativity,

pulsing its way from your brain to your cells.

Not good enough.

Not attractive enough.

Not the right shape.

Perhaps it’s time to see your body for what is truly is,

An amazing and mind-blowingly competent machine.

To get your soul to where it needs to be in this life.

To let you live.

I wonder if you know,

how much better you would be as a team.

I wonder.

Donna Ashworth

From ‘I wish I Knew’: https://amzn.to/3JVMJlZ

 MY ASK...

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