Activation Energy, and Leaning In

A airplane utilizes enormous energy taking off and landing. It is so much easier to maintain altitude than to keep ascending and descending. The reason has to do with activation energy. It’s power. It takes a lot to start anything: go to the gym like you promised yourself you would do, start using the plates you bought that are smaller than your normal plates so you will eat less, start going to bed earlier to give your brain and body a chance to rest, recover, and regenerate new cells. It’s endless. We mean to start, we have good intentions. But it’s cold when you get out of bed. Maybe tomorrow. The smaller plates haven’t been unpacked and washed. It can wait one more day. And there’s this great program on PBS (PBS!) that doesn’t end until late.

I promise, promise, promise that I will start my new improved life tomorrow.

But you don’t. And the reason is back to activation energy. It’s takes so much energy to start that you never do. It’s easier to hope that things will just work out by themselves without you have to be involved.

So here’s a strategy: lean towards your goal. Do one small thing that means almost nothing by itself, but built on continuing movement, means everything. Once the plane releases the brakes, it rolls forward. That motion accelerates into take-off, and the plane is airborne. You are not much different.

This is how aging succeeds, or fails. Something has to change because what you have been doing isn’t working. This is where walking is useful. Walking is transportation, if nothing else. Walking, by itself, isn’t going to change a lot, but walking, and movement, often lead to other activities. It’s a beginning. It’s leaning in, taking your foot off the brake. Forward movement leads to more movement, and maintenance. When you can move well, you will move more. When you move more, you think about your health, your eating habits, your sleep and how you function. You become more aware of you.

This is taking responsibility for your aging process. It isn’t up to your spouse, your kids, or your doctor with his pills. Aging is on you, your beliefs, behaviors, and maintenance.

Surprisingly, it isn’t that hard to maintain Aging Intelligently. You do have to do what you say you are going to do. But once you are past the activation stage, maintenance becomes a habit. You change your life, one small, annoying habit at a time. Walk to the grocery store, the coffee shop, or the mailbox. The fresh air will revive your spirits, and maybe lead to something else, like unpacking those smaller plates, or going to the gym. Getting tired at the gym will help your sleep more restfully, which reduces the craving for more food, which makes it easier to move more.

And that’s Aging Intelligently.