How Old Are You?

When you get to that age, you may say it’s just a state of mind.?The physical evidence may state otherwise.

But what will your own thinking and behaviours reveal??

If you are given to saying “Not at my age”, I’m too old for that” and the devastating “I can’t wait till I retire”, the chances are that you are a prisoner of chronological age thinking.

Is there a difference between where we are—chronological age; and how we perform—our functional age?

Marian Rabinowitz thought so in The Six Ages of Man and the Inner Time.?A recent book by Zvi Lanir, The Wisdom Years, follows the same path.?

The point is: do we giving up striving, learning, growing, developing? And succumb to decline?

Is it possible that our own thinking, can hasten the decline in our state of health and fitness?

The retirement concept may be the most telling.?If we see retirement as an opportunity for growth, this will obviously have a much more positive effect than retirement seen as the beginning of a life of inactivity and dependency.?

Lanir writes:

“Parallel to decline, we also have the potential for renewal. And the process by which this is achieved depends on us.”

He sees a person’s functional age as being determined by the synergy between 4 dimensions: the cognitive, the emotional, the physical and the social—as per the model shown above.

Rabinowitz said that chronological age is not a reliable indicator of a person’s state of health or of life expectancy.?What actually determines a person’s state of health in advanced years is a combination of:

• Functional age
• Social age
• Emotional age
• Cognitive age
• Biological age

For each of these, people may perform differently—some may be young in one and old in another age.?Only when seen in combination does the functional age and the personal chronology of the individual emerge.

Lanir says that people may actively manipulate their functional age and create a personal reserve that will enable them to enjoy what he calls the “wisdom years” and postpone old age.

I believe that this may be done through:

1. How we think—after a period of active adulthood and becoming cognizant of human fallibility, a person may turn their attention to their inner self and their needs.?This may lead to a focus on growth, not decline.
2. What and how much we eat, keeping an eye on what not to eat and especially what not to drink, when we know that alcoholic beverages in particular are among the biggest contributors to weight gain and obesity.
3. How we exercise—intense and prolonged with a focus on aerobic activities to maintain a high level of cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength and bone density; probably 3-4 times a week, building into a self-perpetuating rhythm.
4. How we sleep—a regular time to retire, with a fixed period of 7-8 hours and therefore a regular time to rise.?A warm shower, followed by a minute’s cold shower before bed and then controlled breathing.
5. The learning program that we set ourselves—targeted to a specific field of study going deeper than before, or a more wide-ranging exploration of the previously unknown and the fascinating; building both physical and mental agility.
6. What life affirming projects we embark on—how purposeful they are; what difference they can make to others’ lives and the world in general.?How well they tap the skills and insights that we have developed over our lives.
7. The quality of our personal relationships—from our intimate partners, to family members over multiple generations and a diverse circle of friends who enjoy a similar range of learning and interaction and who give of themselves generously.
8. Looking beyond our needs and wants to the welfare of others.?This means aspiring to something bigger than ourselves, that will contribute to the greater good of society and lift up those who need a helping hand. ???????

So if you still believe that chronology is still a consideration, you may ask “How old should I be to start any or all of the above?”.?

I think that the answer can only be: “Whatever age you are now.”

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Next week:?Ray Werndly, Leadership and BoLA

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About the Author

Jeff Bell?is Principal of executive consultancy ResultsWise in Perth, Western Australia.?To boost your leadership, ask Jeff about consulting, coaching, strategy facilitation, Band of Leaders Australia (BoLA) [email protected] or Advanced Leadership Course [email protected]. Mobile 0439 988 662.