When are you planning to get old? According to a recent study, you'd better move
date back."Contrary to common belief, many people can live well into their 90s without becoming cognitively impaired, study findings indicate." - Neurology 2003; 60: 477-480
But statistics are statistics.
Let me give you some examples from my own coaching practice.
*I have a client who is 72 who's a real estate coach. One of his coaching clients just made her goal, doubling her income to $100,000 this year. She's a real estate agent and she plans to do it again next year with his help. Her age? She's 80.
*I have a client who says she's having best sex of her life. Her age? She's 78. Her lover? He's 80.
*I have someone who designs websites for my marketing clients. She's best web designer I've found. Her age? 58.
*I have another client who went from ground zero to fluent in German in last 3 years. Her age? She's 59.
Most of my clients are over age of 55 and they are all busy learning new things. The layperson best at computer I know is 58 and learned it all in past two years. She keyboards at 100 wpm.
And what's secret to all this? Al Siebert, Ph.D., has studied resilient seniors for 30 years and has defined some of characteristics. Among them are:
*Retain a childlike curiosity *Keep learning *If you have a victim mentality, replace it with something better that gets you what you want. (Try my Optimism course ( http://www.susandunn.cc/courses.htm ). *Learn to tell your 'survivor' stories so they inspire others (don't whine) *Find meaning in your adversity. If Victor Frankl did, you can. *Stay connected. The single worst thing for your health, mental and physical, is isolation, and you can be isolated in a room-full of people if you aren't connecting. Isolation is worse for your health than obesity, smoking or high blood pressure. *Have a sense of humor, remain playful.
