And Im not referring to botox, dyeing ones hair, or the clothes we wear. Im talking about the things we do to keep ourselves in a state of mindfulness where we feel young.
Ever find yourself idealizing your younger years with only fond memories of time when we had less responsibility? Personally, I look back at my teenage years as an idyllic time because of the clear recollection of the events that made it easy to be young. Funny thing is, I tend to have a foggy recollection of how those same times were hard as well. My thoughts drift toward what it was like to have more free time, more energy, and less responsibility. Thoughts that don't cross my mind while reminscing or engaging in wishful thinking include remembering what it was like to have far less understanding of how the world works, or what it was like to be uncertain and insecure about myself.
In my mind, one of the best things we can do to recapture the excitement of youth is to take on a challenge that is age appropriate and overcoming it. You remember what it feels like, right? Working up the courage to ask your dream girl/boy to the prom and having them say yes? Making the school's basketball team and winning a starting spot? Getting a part-time job to buy your first car, even if it's a piece of junk? Throwing a successful party where all the cool kids come to, and have it be a success? Especially when you're old like me(29), you look back at these things with fondness and excitement and great moments these things with fondness, as great memories of our youth we'll never experience again. What we forget is the anxiety and fear of failure that came along with those things, which is a good thing. It's good for us to idealize the past, because it allows us to look forward to be able to do childish things once again as "more mature adults." But we get so lost in our busy world us adults, spouses and parents that we forget what it's like to be young, let alone manage to be young at heart. I have a few thoughts on how to keep ourselves young at heart, the first being....
Sounds easy, right? Try it while working 40-50 hours a week only to have to come home and work on the house. And the challenges of our youth certainly aren't applicable here, as there are no proms or basketball teams to make or cheerleaders to impress. But there still are challenges we can undertake as adults that give us the same since of excitement. The question is, what challenges or activities do that for you?
Remember being young and looking for the next laugh, the best joke, or the way to stand out in the crowd with friends? That sense of humor can be translated into adulthood as well, although again, not in the same way we did as children. Maintaining humor as an adult is such an important part of staying young at heart. Remember being young, and being able to do more things every year? As we get older at adults, the general rule is we're able to do less every year. For example, I used to be able to run half-marathons. Five knee and three ankle surgeries later, I can take walks and jog a half-mile here and there. But I can laugh at it when people call me "bubble boy" or joke that Im catching Rey Mysterio in terms of surgeries. It's that ability to laugh at myself, the acceptance and the willingness to do what I'm capaable of that keeps me from getting depressed and lamenting what was. How do you keep your sense of humor alive about changes as you've entered adulthood?
Expounding on my last two points, staying young at heart requires learning new things to keep us entertained. Learning when you're young is very easy. It's a natural progression in growing up. We learn how to tie our shoes, dress ourselves, drive a car, play sports and make money, amongst others. But it's harder to learn new things as an adult. We either have to give up some of the things we learned as a child that were immature, or we've learned much growing up that there is so much less to learn as an adult.
Fortunately, when we were kids, we learned how to be creative. And this creativity can foster us learning new and exciting things as an adult as well. It can be simple things such as how to make an ice cream we've had 100 times better, such as melting peanut butter on it. We learn how to maneuver through marriage, and how to make it an enjoyable experience. We learn what it's like to have kids, and how to raise them in our own way. Those are just a few examples of things we can learn new things as an adult to keep ourselves young. What new things have you learned as an adult to help keep you young?
Don't get me wrong, Im not saying that we shouldn't do things to enjoy ourselves. In fact, part of staying young at heart requires us to find things we enjoy and doing them for ourselves. However, think back to being young. It was natural, normal, and acceptable to be self-absorbed. It was even necessary, as we were trying to navigate through an exciting yet unpredictable world. As we've aged, we've learned many life lessons. In the process, we've won some and lost some, but as we've done so, we've developed a clear idea of who we are. This gives us the ability to be more at ease in situations and not worry about the success or failure of being ourselves. We've established relationships, careers, and roles in life. As a result, we're able to step outside of who were are and try different things. Parents are able to find enjoyment in doing nice things for their kids, and grandparents are able to find joy in doing things for their grandkids that the parent never can. These are generally selfless acts that bring great joy and pleasure to adults, allowing them to live vicariously through them, once again keeping us young at heart.What things do you do for others that bring you joy and keep you young at heart?
Maybe Im being idealistic here, and what Im presenting certainly isn't a surefire recipe for success. But it certainly is something to think about as we attempt to stay young at heart and find enjoyment in our lives in different ways as we get older.
The questions are contained within the thread, and as always, any other thoughts or discussion is more then welcome.
Ever find yourself idealizing your younger years with only fond memories of time when we had less responsibility? Personally, I look back at my teenage years as an idyllic time because of the clear recollection of the events that made it easy to be young. Funny thing is, I tend to have a foggy recollection of how those same times were hard as well. My thoughts drift toward what it was like to have more free time, more energy, and less responsibility. Thoughts that don't cross my mind while reminscing or engaging in wishful thinking include remembering what it was like to have far less understanding of how the world works, or what it was like to be uncertain and insecure about myself.
In my mind, one of the best things we can do to recapture the excitement of youth is to take on a challenge that is age appropriate and overcoming it. You remember what it feels like, right? Working up the courage to ask your dream girl/boy to the prom and having them say yes? Making the school's basketball team and winning a starting spot? Getting a part-time job to buy your first car, even if it's a piece of junk? Throwing a successful party where all the cool kids come to, and have it be a success? Especially when you're old like me(29), you look back at these things with fondness and excitement and great moments these things with fondness, as great memories of our youth we'll never experience again. What we forget is the anxiety and fear of failure that came along with those things, which is a good thing. It's good for us to idealize the past, because it allows us to look forward to be able to do childish things once again as "more mature adults." But we get so lost in our busy world us adults, spouses and parents that we forget what it's like to be young, let alone manage to be young at heart. I have a few thoughts on how to keep ourselves young at heart, the first being....
1. Accept new Challenges
Sounds easy, right? Try it while working 40-50 hours a week only to have to come home and work on the house. And the challenges of our youth certainly aren't applicable here, as there are no proms or basketball teams to make or cheerleaders to impress. But there still are challenges we can undertake as adults that give us the same since of excitement. The question is, what challenges or activities do that for you?
2. Keep a Sense of Humor
Remember being young and looking for the next laugh, the best joke, or the way to stand out in the crowd with friends? That sense of humor can be translated into adulthood as well, although again, not in the same way we did as children. Maintaining humor as an adult is such an important part of staying young at heart. Remember being young, and being able to do more things every year? As we get older at adults, the general rule is we're able to do less every year. For example, I used to be able to run half-marathons. Five knee and three ankle surgeries later, I can take walks and jog a half-mile here and there. But I can laugh at it when people call me "bubble boy" or joke that Im catching Rey Mysterio in terms of surgeries. It's that ability to laugh at myself, the acceptance and the willingness to do what I'm capaable of that keeps me from getting depressed and lamenting what was. How do you keep your sense of humor alive about changes as you've entered adulthood?
3. Never Stop Learning:
Expounding on my last two points, staying young at heart requires learning new things to keep us entertained. Learning when you're young is very easy. It's a natural progression in growing up. We learn how to tie our shoes, dress ourselves, drive a car, play sports and make money, amongst others. But it's harder to learn new things as an adult. We either have to give up some of the things we learned as a child that were immature, or we've learned much growing up that there is so much less to learn as an adult.
Fortunately, when we were kids, we learned how to be creative. And this creativity can foster us learning new and exciting things as an adult as well. It can be simple things such as how to make an ice cream we've had 100 times better, such as melting peanut butter on it. We learn how to maneuver through marriage, and how to make it an enjoyable experience. We learn what it's like to have kids, and how to raise them in our own way. Those are just a few examples of things we can learn new things as an adult to keep ourselves young. What new things have you learned as an adult to help keep you young?
4. Staying young at heart requires us to be less self-absorbed:
Maybe Im being idealistic here, and what Im presenting certainly isn't a surefire recipe for success. But it certainly is something to think about as we attempt to stay young at heart and find enjoyment in our lives in different ways as we get older.
The questions are contained within the thread, and as always, any other thoughts or discussion is more then welcome.
