Does This Happen to You?

I hope to grow as young as Qigong master Chungliang Al Huang who was over 90 when this picture was taken

Has this ever happened to you? In the middle of a conversation you realize you just said something completely nonsensical, or forgot someone’s name, or perhaps even the whole reason you had started talking!  I wish the term “senior moment” had never been coined, because when those moments occur it’s tempting to blame them on our age, but that could be a big mistake. This is why I enjoyed the article by Steven Kotler “Believing Myths About Aging Makes Growing Old Worse.” In it he describes the findings of a well-respected longitudinal study on aging and retirement based on data collected over 20 years.  “…a positive mindset toward aging---meaning, “I’m excited about the possibilities in the second half of my life and believe my best days are ahead of me” translated into an extra eight years of healthy longevity. This finding….is now one of the most well-established facts in the field.” Believing Myths About Aging Makes Growing Old Worse | TIME

You may be thinking “Ha! Easier said than done!” So, here’s a Qigong suggestion: Be patient. Take little bites. Each time you screw up your facts, or your knees (or other parts) start to hurt, notice if you’re going down that rabbit hole of fearfully blaming it on “getting old.” Thinking that way will surely lead your qi in the wrong direction. Instead, ask if perhaps you need to take better care of yourself, especially around how you manage stress. Stress is often the true culprit here. Stress causes distraction, memory blips, confusion, and hastens wear and tear on our bodies, too.  Without doubt, even more than the number of our birthdays, stress is responsible for many of the negative repercussions of growing older.