Beth is thinking about getting a tattoo. She’s got some great ideas for the artwork.
From time to time, I too have considered “getting some ink” but it doesn’t seem to be on my radar for this fall.
What I am thinking about is possibly getting braids. I think the change of hairstyle will feel fresh and new. I saw a woman about my age with a head full of boho braids gathered up in a high ponytail. Her hair looked like a million shades of glistening silver cords. Fabulous.
I’m also working on being able to do full-body pushups. Conquering this exercise will surely change my upper body strength.
I have a good girlfriend that’s really making a career change. She’s back in school (at 66 years old) in a demanding master’s degree program in Lifestyle Health Science and Coaching. She wants to work with aging populations to bring more attention to falls and falls prevention.
I bet you also have a list of things you’d like to experience as well.
From growing a kitchen garden to visiting the vintage shops in Paris. Or maybe you’ve become more interested in the work a local nonprofit is doing. Or you see women our age selling handmade jewelry or beautiful hand-knitted sweaters and you think it might be fun to see if there’s a market for your colorful artwork.
At TwoWomen we think all of this is wonderful.
You might go back to school like my friend. Or this could be the year you challenge your small business to show impressive earnings on the financial statements. Maybe you think it would be fun to give only handmade gifts to your friends and family this holiday season. Or you start planning to greet the cooler weather with a planned hike and a stay in the woods.
When we make plans and get excited about the process of executing those plans, we’re showing a vitality for life, a belief we can make it happen (which is optimism) combined with the physical and mental energy it takes to manifest the desire.
I love this definition of vitality.
“Vitality is approaching life with excitement and vigor. Not doing things halfway or halfheartedly, living life as an adventure, feeling alive and activated.”
Of course, throughout our lives, vitality is fundamental. But never more important than it is as we age.
My understanding is that vitality is one of the five key strengths that are most highly correlated with happiness and well-being. (By the way, the other four strengths are curiosity and interest in the world, hope and optimism, gratitude, and the capacity to love and be loved.)
Let’s look at the other two magical words I’ve mentioned: optimism and energy.
Here's another great definition. This one is for optimism.
"Optimism is a mental attitude characterized by hope and confidence in success and a positive future. Optimism is a future-oriented attitude, a true confidence that things will turn out well."
Optimists view hardships and hard times as temporary that they can get past. But it is not about seeing everything through rose-colored glasses. Instead, it’s about choosing to focus on what’s good about a situation and what can be done to make things better. Something can always be done to make things better.
Beth and I also believe it’s easier to live an optimistic life when we connect to something bigger than ourselves.
The last component we're talking about is energy.
Even though many of us believe there are four types of energy, here we’re talking about physical energy.
Energy to actually perform tasks or activities. It's just another reason to check in on our diet, exercise, and sleep habits and make all three a priority.
So, the good news here is we can do and be anything regardless of our age.
The formula for living your best life?
Live with vitality (excitement and vigor)
Stay optimistic (hopeful and confident)
Stay energetic (physically fit)
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