Life is Choices. What are Yours?

There are a lot of things that I am not good at: playing pool, golf, liking dogs, tolerating tedious people.

But I am good at Aging Intelligently. I play a lot, I take no medicines, I move my body every way I can every day, I read about aging intelligently, then put it into practice as a lifestyle. I believe it aging well, practice it, share it, teach it. My belief about aging defines my waking moments. Enough consistent sleep takes care of the rest.

Nor being able to do everything is fine by me. It is choices of where I spend time: watching some mindless reality show on television, or reading something about the body/brain connection, and how it helps mental sharpness. Being sympathetic to the worriers, the complainers, and fault finders drains my energy for a walk, experimenting in the kitchen, or a laugh with a friend. 

We choose every day the person we become. We are the sum of each day’s choice, and by making a different choice, we change ourselves. We can live in, and apologize for, the past or live in the present, accept it’s challenges and rewards and live a richer life. We can start that exercise plan today, start to eat healthier, rid ourselves of toxic people.

The distractions of focus for starting anything new are always there, waiting to be chosen: texting, email, unsolicited phone calls, quick trip to the grocery store, problems in relationships, money worries. The smart person does something about their situation, and if that doesn’t work, does something else until something finally does work.

Our life is all choice. If we don’t choose, someone or something else will make the choice for us. Working without breaks, taking the elevator one floor when there are stairs, believing what the Negative Nellies say about your talent or your looks, marrying the first guy who pays you a compliment (really?), eating food based solely on taste (think salt, sugar, fat) are bad choices. And so easy.

Making a good choice is challenging. You have to pay attention. You may need more, and better information.

So here’s the deal. Learn to make better choices. It’s a practice you choose. Think twice before acting. Like everything else, it gets easier with practice. You will still do dumb things, make mistakes, get angry with yourself. So what? Keep going, keep working at it, forgive yourself, practice more, think more. How well or how poorly you live depends on the choices you make every day. Life is nothing but choices. What are yours?

Are you Aging Intelligently?