Attitude on Aging

In a world where achievements often seem bound by age, recent headlines have shattered conventional notions of what it means to be young or old. From Rohan Bopanna, the Indian tennis veteran who clinched his first No. 1 ranking at 43, to Nick Dunlap, the 20-year-old college sophomore who made history as the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since 1991, to a septuagenarian and octogenarian vying to be President of the US, age is proving to be both relevant and relative.

As children, we yearn to grow older, yet as adults, we often find ourselves longing for the vitality of youth. It's a paradoxical dance with time, where age becomes not just a chronological marker but a reflection of our attitudes and experiences.

When it comes to age, there are three dimensions to consider: chronological, psychological, and biological. Chronological age is fixed, tethered to the passage of time and the date of our birth. But it's psychological and biological age that offer a more nuanced understanding of our relationship with aging.

Psychological age, as Deepak Chopra suggests, is the age we feel in our hearts and minds. It's shaped by our attitudes, beliefs, and outlook on life. Do we embrace aging as a journey of growth and wisdom, or do we fear it as a descent into decay? Our cultural obsession with youth often leads us to idolize the notion of eternal youth, overlooking the richness that comes with each passing year.

Biological age, on the other hand, is a reflection of our physical health and vitality. While aging may be inevitable, its effects on our bodies are not immutable. Studies have shown that lifestyle factors, such as exercise and meditation, can significantly impact our biological markers of aging. ?Tufts University conducted a study with people between 84 and 96 and introduced them to different physical conditioning programs and were able to reverse all the biomarkers of aging. It is proven that consistent meditation for over five years has shown that the mediator’s biological age is about 12 years younger than the chronological age of his/her peers.

To defy the constraints of age, we must cultivate a mindset of continuous growth and learning. As Douglas MacArthur once said, "You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair." Age is not a barrier but a threshold to new possibilities, limited only by the boundaries we impose on ourselves.

Let us cast aside the shackles of societal expectations and embrace the fullness of life, regardless of our age. Let us approach each day with a spirit of curiosity and a willingness to challenge ourselves. For in the end, age is just a number – what truly matters is the attitude with which we face each moment, undaunted by the passage of time.