Within the scope of “acting our age”, which has to do with our maturity level only, the question, how old are you, is not a question for me to know about you, but for the reader to ask yourself. And that’s not a question primarily for people old enough to join AARP (or an alternatively conservative mature adult organization). The question should be more vigorously considered by people ….. well ….. a good deal younger than me. Because people who hit their later years who “act old” generally didn’t just start doing that all at once. And that’s considering their general health in making that statement. This is about people who don’t undergo any significant illness or genetic challenge, but live in a way that exponentially ages them.

There are lots of people who by the time they hit 45 or 50, they’re done. Many have lived in a way that has inhibited joy and fun in their life. Typically they have lived in a way that caused them to physically work themselves to death or opposite that, instilled a sedentary lifestyle and attitude that has left them feeling like they can physically never achieve anything substantial in the future. If they don’t make a dramatic and unlikely decision at this stage of life, they will never again have a sense of any kind of accomplishment or joy. But the good news is the decisions and appropriate changes can be made at any age.

Consequently, if you’re reading this and you’re in your 20s to early 40s, right now is the time to begin to guard against ending up like the paragraph above. If you have a job that keeps you at a desk, inside, sedentary throughout most days, be sure you have some kind of daily exercise relief and counterbalance before or after work. For some that may mean simply working out in a gym (for those very disciplined). For others it may mean joining some kind of athletic club, school or team to give them the needed incentive to get moving daily. For me, it’s been Taekwondo …… against all reason ….. in my 50s. But boy, it sure has ended up being valuable.

If you’re a person who has a very hard physical job that keeps you constantly working and endlessly feeling like you’re going to pass out, take a good look at it. Is it something you can change? If you don’t think so, can you really look ahead at however many years you have to retirement and imagine doing it for that long while staying healthy enough to work and being able to keep together your family, relationships and life in general. Unfortunately, people get locked into employment situations, generally because they don’t ever attempt to break free. This happens even mentally knowing to live the way they are is to use up the rest of their productive years doing nothing but earning their paycheck …… if they stay healthy enough. Very little chance they will spend their later years in anything other than a recliner or worse, a wheelchair.

Then there are just the people who because of the way they were raised or some kind of ongoing life events or their inherited personality, they believe that they are to be forever taking care of every necessary task before they can do anything beneficial or fun for themselves. They are not affected by their jobs, but simply by a distorted view of life that keeps them “being responsible” for everything except taking care of themselves and their ability to function in the future.

So, what we have is not people who get in severely debilitated condition by the time they hit 60 or before. They start getting in that condition years and sometimes decades before. And when they reach their older years, their only option sadly ends up being that of a “sweet old person” who barely gets around and lives out the consequences of their lives.  If that happens because of disease or heredity or some uncontrollable life events, there’s nothing to say about it. But if they reach that condition far before it would have been necessary because of the way they lived for decades before, it’s a waste of what could have been some great, productive, strong years.

So, in summary, how do you avoid causing yourself to become a stump in your older years? Here it is. If you’re 25, don’t act 40. If you’re 40, don’t act 55. If you’re 55, don’t act 70. And if you’re 70, don’t act 90.  That’s your part in it. Whatever stage of life you’re in, find some way to move and take care of your health and fitness level. Find a purpose and pursue it, regardless of your age. And don’t let anything, within the bounds of reasonable responsibility,  including job, house projects, finances, or any of the other multitude of life excuses, keep you from having some regular times of just plain fun. Sometimes even physical pain is not a good reason to stay still (check with your doctor), and lots of people end up down in physical pain much longer than they had to be if they had been able to manage the discomfort of moving.

I know people approaching 60 that love life, work hard, have fun, engage in their church ministry. I know people approaching their 70s who work out vigorously, and don’t know their age, even when it’s pointed out to them by younger, less capable people. And I know people in their 70s and 80s who can relate to any age, know how to have fun, and are still vigorous in many areas of life. These are people who have never allowed themselves to become older than they should be, and now, are not as old as we think they are. So hopefully the title question makes a little more sense to you now. When asked “how old are you?”, it’s not a reference to your actual age, but to the age you’ve allowed yourself to become.

If you’re physically able, whether you’re 17 or 70, you can make dramatic changes in your life mentally, physically and socially. But decisions and movement are required. That’s the only catch. Finally, a couple of little secrets: You can do it and it’s worth it

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