Embrace these three truths to make this a reality.
“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.” ― Stephen R. Covey
EDITORIAL DISCLAIMER: Any advice or recommendation given in my writing is what works for ME and may not be the best regimen for you based on your psychological or physiological makeup and stability. Please consult a doctor when making decisions about your health.
What would your 40-year-old self tell your 20- or 30-year-old self it you could?
Would you yell at yourself for missing out on investing in Meta (Facebook) when it IPO’d or jumping on that Bitcoin thing when it was only pennies on the dollar?
Haha…yeah me too, but what would you say to yourself about your health?
I just turned 42 a few weeks ago and feel great about it.
While many people seem to be sad about living life in their 40’s, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to embrace it and am excited for the future for two reasons:
- I know I’m way smarter now than I was when I was in my 20s or 30s and
- I have much more opportunity and resources to act on that intelligence to build the life I want.
When it comes to my health, specifically, I’m proud that I’ve been able to get into and maintain a much better fitness level than I did when I was younger.
There are three distinct truths that I had to realize, however, to be able to do so, and if you are willing to embrace them as well, you definitely can too.
You are going to have to work out more consistently than you did when you were younger
As you age, things just don’t work the same way they used to based on the mileage that you’ve put on yourself.
Just like a brand new car has the ability to sit idle for some time and then crank up and run with little to no issues, when you have a car that is a bit older, you will want to make sure to get that motor going at least once a month or so to prevent anything from getting too old and clamping up.
Similarly, when you were young, you could go outside and race someone in an 100-yard dash without even thinking about it. If you tried that today, there’s a good chance you would end up in the hospital shortly afterwards.
When it comes to aging gracefully and giving your body the best chance to remain supple and spry, you need to have a consistent workout regimen that keeps the muscles moving and used to doing hard work consistently.
That’s one of the reasons I always suggest that its better to do 30 minutes of exercise six days a week as opposed to 60 minutes of exercise 3 days per week.
For me, this leads me to working out every day just to keep my body consistently ready to go when needed.
Having a daily routine that your body is always used to and expects will prevent it from getting “sticky” in any parts and make sure you stay “well-oiled” at all times.
You are going to have to eat/drink way better than you did when you were younger.
The days of eating sugary cereal in the morning, a cheeseburger with fries for lunch, and pizza for dinner after an office happy hour to soak up all the alcohol you just drank are gone if you are serious about getting into the best shape of your life.
While the truth is that you probably shouldn’t be eating that sh*t anyway, you definitely want to move towards a much healthier diet as you age to prevent many of the negative health concerns that could come with it.
Going back to the car analogy, when your car is brand new, you could probably get away with not focusing as much on the upkeep as you would on a new car.
You might decide to let the oil light stay on a little longer than you should or not focus on getting the tires and transmission fluid changed on a consistent basis (even though this WILL eventually ruin the life of your car).
However, as that car gets older, if you continue to neglect the preventative maintenance for upkeep, there is a very good chance it will let you down one afternoon on a highway at the worst possible time.
Don’t do this to your body.
There are very small changes that can lead to BIG results if you are willing to commit to them.
Sugar, alcohol, and fatty foods in general are always the enemy but very much so after you eclipse the 40 year mark.
While you don’t want to feel like you have to give up all guilty pleasures in life, at least cutting back on them significantly is something you’ll need to consider.
You can still be in the best shape of your life if you desire
A friend was lamenting recently about how he wished he would’ve taken better care of his body when he was younger, so it wouldn’t be so hard now.
I agreed with him that it would’ve been nice if he had been focused on his health when he was younger, as that would’ve allowed him to already know the behaviors he needed to change.
However, I let him know that this didn’t, in any way, prevent him from STILL getting into the best shape of his life today.
While, if you’re going to play a professional sport, your 20s and 30s may provide the opportunity to get in the best PLAYING shape of your life; if you’re a regular every day citizen like most people, there is no reason that your 40s can’t be your best LIVING shape of your life.
Some people see 40 as the beginning of the end and that everything begins to go downhill, when it could just in fact be the beginning of the best years of your life.
Many times, at 40, we have made all the mistakes that have not allowed us to be the best version of ourselves up to this point and now, hopefully, we have way more wisdom to make better decisions in the future.
Don’t allow your age to hold you back.
There is a concept called Decagism that I created that can change your entire life if you truly embrace it and understand what it means for your life.
They say you are only as old as you feel, but the truth is you are only as old as you tell yourself you feel every day.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your best years are behind you because you hit the 40 mark. Instead, think of it as the catalyst to get your a** into gear and do all the things you know you should’ve done when you were in your 20s and 30s.
Not only will it make the next years of your life more amazing and enjoyable, but hopefully, it’ll allow your 60-year-old self to look back at your 40-year-old self and say good f*cking job.