How old do you think you are?

How we see ourselves in the mirror is often misleading.  If you are having a bad day, you think you look older than you really are.  If you are having a good day, you think you look younger. Makes sense, doesn't it. We have a friend who has created a formula that he uses when he looks in the mirror.  Here is how he describes it: "Up until I was 45, every time I looked in the mirror, I saw myself as 28.  But once I hit 45, I saw myself as 35.  When I hit 50, it jumped to 40.  At 60, it went to 45. I just turned 70, so now I see myself as 50.  I guess when I reach 100, I will see myself as 75. It makes perfect sense to me."  In reality he doesn't care what anyone else thinks how he looks, and he readily acknowledges self-delusion. But his formula simply makes him feel better. A new study shows how people of different ages define older age. It confirms what we hear most often about the perceptions of aging.

Our faces often reflect are lives. Each wrinkle a decade of experience.  Some decades are harder than others.  It also shows how much time we spent in the sun without sunscreen.  Remember the home brew of baby oil and iodine many of us used in our teens and twenties? The sure way to tan. But it was even better if you used a reflector.  What were we thinking?  Skin cancer was hardly on the screen then.  The other factor is our DNA.  Did our ancestors win the tight skin lottery or did they have to run around in skin looking older than their age.

Whether you look young or old, the key is feeling good about yourself.  Take care of that skin.  Lotions, vitamins, exercises, sunscreen, hats, etc. all help.  It only takes a little effort to make a big difference.  After all, don't you want to look 75 when you hit 100?

Rewiring also means taking care of yourself as you age so you can look your best.  Projecting energy and vitality can lead to opportunities that can make a big difference, especially if you are looking for a new job, part time work, being selected for a great volunteer assignment, or if you are out in the dating market again.

If you Hate to exercise, Read this

No matter where we go in the world and talk about Rewiring Your Future, exercise seems to be top of mind.  Sometimes it is scary to hear people say they are going to run a marathon, but haven't done any exercise in years.  Yes, we have actually heard this.  We always tell people to STOP and GO SLOWLY.  The only people who benefit from strenuous exercise like running a marathon without significant preparation are doctors and undertakers. 

No matter what age you are, creating an exercise plan for yourself should be a thoughtful process and include input from professionals including your doctor.  The goal should be to improve your health, your life expectancy and the enjoyment of doing something positive for yourself.     Improper exercise results in pains, strains, torn ligaments, and other more serious injuries.  No pain, No gain may work for some, but we don't recommend it..

We tell people if you have an exercise routine that works for you, keep it up.  If you are bored with your routine, add some new exercises that make it more interesting.  Trying new things makes it a lot less boring and new challenges can be very rewarding once you master them. Not addressing exercise boredom  leads to no exercise at all.

Now for the good news: there is a great article out this week in the New York Times by Gretchen Reynolds.  We love the title: The Right Dose of Exercise for a Longer Life.  The article talks about several new studies that gathered information on over 600,000 middle-aged adults They analyzed 14 years of death records for this group and came up with very interesting findings about exercise and fitness.

For those who hate rigorous exercise, there is hope.  You don't have to run a marathon, swim the English Channel, or climb the stairs of the Empire State building to get and stay in shape.  All you have to do is have a modest plan and stick to it.  According to the studies cited, "The Sweet spot for exercise benefits, however, came among those who tripled the recommended level of exercise, working out moderately, mostly by walking, for 450 minutes per week, or little more than an hour per day.  Those people were 39 percent less likely to die prematurely than people who never exercised."
That sounds good to us.

There is no time like the present to get rewired.  Now that winter is behind us, there is no excuse that it is too cold to go for a walk.  Even if it is cold and raining, there is always the indoor mall or the gym.  Put on your headset, listen to the music that motivates you, and strut your stuff.  You will be glad you did and so will those who love you!!

"OLDER" PEOPLE,HOWEVER DEFINED, ARE NOT "LUMPABLE!

I hate it when people make assumptions that everyone around them is just like them, or worse, thinks just like them. I'm not talking about politics, gay rights or healthcare issues. I'm talking about aging! Recently I eavesdropped on a group of late 50 year old guys where two of them were going on and on about their aches and pains. One went so far as to say..."We're all in the same boat, getting old and gray by the day!"

I couldn't believe that none of the other guys took him on and said, Hey! I'm not hurtin! In fact I'm feeling pretty good. A little earlier one of the guys had told me he was looking into doing the Iron Man. When I asked him later, why didn't you say something about it, he shrugged it off, but I couldn't.

The truth is I get really ticked when I hear an "older" person (and how we define that today is another great challenge!)making an assumption about a peer, regardless of what the subject. People have a tendency to lump people together especially as they age. They shouldn't. PEOPLE ARE NOT LUMPABLE! It bothers me when I hear people say they have an ache or pain and assume you do also, when not only do you not, but in reality you have just completed a mini marathon in record time! Why do people do that? To make themselves feel better---or do they want everyone in the same boat? Theirs!

When I hear friends or strangers say, older people are all alike, I want to slap them on the side of the head and say, no they aren't, and to continue by asking, why would you assume everyone else your age is like you? And I want to go further and ask, actually how old are these old people you refer to? As a simple test, ask yourself right now---how do you define older people? And even more importantly, how do you see yourself?

In my work I help people of all ages rewire, and I am always struck when an older individual, and older in this instance is referring to anyone over 50, as defined by AARP (not me),tells me they feel old. My natural response to them is keep it to yourself.If you see yourself as old, so will others, I guarantee it. And then you doom all of us Boomers,so don't do it! There are many people, 50,60, 70, even 80 year olds who are doing just fine and feeling great! In fact the man in the picture is Buster Martin who ran marathons until he was 102 years old. Is Buster unique? Yes and no. One thing for sure is that he isn't LUMPABLE!

Open your eyes and see how many people around you are rewiring into next great acts! They're excited about life and its possibilities; they are focusing on their functional age, not their chronological age! Make sure you are also.

Ants in Your Pants Are A Good Thing

Jim Sollisch recently published an article in The Wall Street Journal entitled:"Ants in Your Pants? You Will Probably Live Longer."

The premise of the article is that the more you move, bounce, fidget, or even go for a walk, the healthier you will be and as a result live longer. In so many words fidgeting is good for your body and your brain.

When I was a kid, and always doing "stuff," I remember my parents saying...what's the matter with you? Can't you sit still? In fact they have been telling me to sit still since I was about 3 years old, and I always equated it with buzzing around like a bumble bee.

Now as a grown up I realize that we have advocated something similar in our book, Don't Retire, REWIRE! Except in the book we call it rewiring®. Rewiring® is taking energy previously used in one area (typically work) and moving it into new, fulfilling activities. The simple act of shifting energy moves people around into new work, volunteering, learning new sports, games,or devoting time to hobbies and other life enhancing endeavors.
In his article Jim says that stepping back from the computer and email actually improves results,and you will also lose weight. You may also gain a new zest for life. Now that's two good reasons to get moving and get rewired®.

STOP MAKING RESOLUTIONS YOU WON'T KEEP

It's a new year and if you made it through last year, which if you're reading this blog you did, then pat yourself on the back and let's together move on to 2010. In prior years this would be the time to talk about making some resolutions but NOT this year.

As I eavesdrop and hear peope talk about making New Year's resolutions I believe it's done tongue -in -cheek. Both they and I realize that they feel they "should" make resolutions but in actuality they know that they are going to break them, so I ask---why make them in the first place? You are only kidding, and possibly even hurting yourself if you fall into the fake resolutions trap. Think about it...how many diets have you started and stopped, or job or career changes you said you were going to make and didn't and now feel stuck?

I read a great article where the author challenged her readers by saying---If you think you are the perfect weight, or that you have great abs and arms already, or eat a good diet or love your job and and that your friends are all perfect, then you are already living the optimum life for you and no resolutions are necessary! The readers were told to keep it up and get down on their hands and knees and give thanks and show gratitude.

I thought to myself these people are lucky and that prior resolutions have paid off! However as I looked at my sagging upper arms and at the chocolate chip cookie I was eating, I realized not everyone is there yet.

Not everyone is living the life they want, so I offer a simple thought for the new year and that would be to just "take stock" of your life as it is today. Don't sugar coat or gloss over your findings. Be honest. Like me I am sure that there will be flaws and failings, a few ouches and some ahas! and that within all of your findings there will be hidden opportunities and chances for change. The new year is a beginning for introspection not self-flagellation.

I am NOT making any of the traditional resolutions. However after a few heart -to -heart talks with myself I have decided that there are two words that I will focus on for myself this year that are rather like resolutions; one is to better understand or analyze my own motivation, or lack thereof, and the other is to understand how determined I am to pursue new ideas and interests. These are some of the missing links of the rewiring puzzle.