Podcast - Wellness Psychology Post 50
Here in this episode, I share simple tips and insights for rewiring your wellness psychology beyond 50 to avoid many of the pitfalls associated with aging.
The right psychology and mindset is vital if you want to look and feel great in your middle and later years. As we get older, different metabolic and physiological changes in the body means our approach to optimising wellness needs to be a little different than in our prime years.
Having recently turned 51 myself, I believe that to thrive during the next phase of life, it requires a certain psychology and mindset around health and wellness – a sense of clarity, structure and organisation that fosters health, happiness and healing…that is a little different to what you can get away with in our 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
You see, the impact of your approach to wellness (or lack thereof) is amplified once you reach 50 for many different physiological reasons…metabolic and hormonal changes, changes to your body composition, capabilities, wear and tear on your body etc.
In other words, you need to approach this phase with a greater level of consciousness and self-responsibility than you’ve done before if you want to look and feel great as you age and continue to functional a moderate to high level of performance.
The good news is, this is a phase of life that also carries wisdom, you know a lot about yourself and what makes you tick.
You’ve also had life experiences, you’ve experimented with different approaches – you have a good idea of what works for you and what doesn’t. And hopefully you now have more time to reflect and assess where you are now in your physical and mental health, what’s gotten you to this point and how you can cultivate health, vitality, happiness and joy in the years ahead.
You see, one of the big problems with life is many people sacrifice their health in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s for more pressing priorities - career, kids, finances and everything that goes along with that. Maybe you can relate to this yourself, or you know someone who has done this, or maybe you’ve managed to navigate those years well and you’re in a great place with your health and wellness today.
But if you are completely content with where you are in your health and vitality, then clearly you’ve done most things right and you’re in tune with what your body needs – but this is not the norm.
In fact, as an example in a statistic recently put out by the Australian department of health, ONLY 4 in 10 Australians aged 65 and over meet the physical activity guidelines. And this is a BIG problem when a lack of activity is a primary cause of:
Reduced co-ordination and balance
Reduced joint flexibility and mobility
Reduce bone strength and muscle mass
Reduced physical endurance
And increased body fat and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease; and mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.
You’ve probably heard the saying: “Have a fall, die of pneumonia”, which is so common for people who are in bad physical condition in their 60’s, 70’s and beyond.
And so, in the words of human biologist and performance expert, Gary Brecka of 10X Health; “we are either accelerating or decelerating towards the grave depending on the daily choices we make.” And the impact or cost of these choices and which side of the ledger we end up on is greatly influenced by what you choose to do, the action you choose to take from this point on.
So, having the right wellness psychology is a big deal because everything starts with your mindset – without the right mindset, the right mental psychology and frequency you’ll never be able to take charge of your wellness in your middle and later years.
If you’re on track and you’re already dialled in then great – keep doing what you’re doing. But if you’re not here’s 3 simple mindset and psychology areas where I want you to start as a basis for rebuilding your health confidence, being physically capable, positive and connected with yourself what you need.
Start with gratitude –
From a place of stillness, gratitude, consciousness and reflection you can create a clearing. And most people, never stop and take the time to create this clearing in their life – to assess where they’re at, what they’ve experienced and how they can positively and constructively move forward.
Wherever you are now, whatever you’ve been through in your life up to this point, start by being grateful for the experiences you’ve so far – focussing on the positive is your wellness wisdom bank. As Tony Robbins always says; “What’s wrong is always available – but so is what’s right”… if we look for it and focus on all that is good that we have.
You see, from a place of gratitude, it is very difficult to carry negative emotions such as fear, anger, resentment, envy or loss…or any type of emotion that can easily stop you in your tracks or negatively influence your everyday behaviours. The truth is, you deserve to be happy and you deserve to be well. And particularly when you get into your middle years, when it is so important to begin turning your attention inward if you want to extend your health span and have a long, happy healthy life.
Gratitude is such a vital emotional wellness skill, yet most people don’t consciously tune in to it. This actually reminds me of the gratitude sessions I used to do on the 3rd morning of our live Base Camp For Health workshops with Don Tolman…where I used to take the group through a 30-40 minute gratitude clearing session that was so simple yet effective. I lost count of how many people came up to me to tell me how this session helped them to clear out blockages, let go of negative emotional baggage and feel lighter and free-er because they were suddenly more conscious of all the positive things in their life that they subconsciously took for granted.
So, everyday whether it’s combined with meditation, breath work or just basic stillness and consciousness, take 5-10 minutes of quiet solo time in the morning to practice a few moments of gratitude – just keep it simple - focus on 3 things in your life you are truly grateful for, it could be the place where you live, the clean fresh air you breathe, someone in your life – just see beauty in anything that is great in your life and bring it forth to your consciousness daily.
This for me, is the very foundation of true wellness – because it brings us into a mental state that is positive and open from which we can move forward in a valuable way, no matter what age we are – AND it makes it a lot easier to continue feeling worthy and to take good care of ourselves.
See the future –
Whilst you and I don’t know what tomorrow will bring and can’t necessarily predict the future, we can have a vision for ourselves and our life and health and how we want things to look.
Do you have a vision for how you want to look and feel in your 70’s? If so, are you on course or do you have a basic plan to realise that vision – are you making the choice not leaving it to chance?
Here’s what I mean.
In your later years, do you want to be weak, frail, susceptible to dysfunction and dis-ease, with no sense of adventure or zest for life and a burden on your loved ones…OR do you want to be energised, capable, mobile, active adventurous, fulfilled and mentally sharp?
Of course, you and I both want the latter…but the real question is, are you on the right trajectory.
So, by being honest with yourself right now and where you are at, it’s not that difficult to predict the future when it comes to your health and vitality and the most likely probability of how things will look for you in 5, 10 or 20 years from now if you stay on your current path.
For me, I want to be continue to be capable of every day physical tasks, to do the things I love doing, hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, travelling, exploring, staying fit, to not be a burden on my kids, to be self-reliant and self-sufficient….these are all things that are important to me and my future self, so I am preparing myself now, stacking the odds in my favour so that this is my realty when I’m 70.
None of us want to end up like Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple – one of the great geniuses of our time who changed the world, died at 56, sacrificed everything for his career, including his health until it was too late – and made a point of telling the world just prior to his death that it wasn’t worth it – that he would have given everything back to return to full health and enjoy his life and his loved ones.
So, create a vision for how you want your life to look in your 70’s. Be honest with yourself about where you are now and whether or not you’re on the right path, the right trajectory where you now, you can make the right adjustments and plot a simple plan to stack the odds in your favour – to ensure you’re on the right trajectory so that you can extend your lifespan and quality of years.
Keep things simple, focus on your health foundations -
Post 50, you really want to keep your daily and weekly wellness routine simple – by focussing on the things that make the most difference to robust health and vitality.
Wholefood based diet
Daily movement
8 hours sleep per night
Some time each week dedicated to some form of wellness optimisation practice or intervention – breath work, meditation, nature walk, massage, hot/cold contrast therapy, a sauna session, osteopathic, acupuncture or chinese medicine. You choose or mix it up – just do something dedicated to preserving your physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Think foundations first
Optimisations second.
So, start by think about what you are doing now on a daily basis in your overall approach to your wellness.
What does the first hour look like for you when you wake up? Your morning routine matters – breathe, hydrate, stretch and move.
Are you doing the right type of exercise that serves you and your goals – 10,000 walking steps per day, 2-3 strength training sessions per week OR other activities that build and preserve cardiovascular, mobility and strength. Exercise for health span, longevity and how it makes you feel – not necessarily aesthetics.
Are you dialled into the big picture attributes of a healthy diet – whole food based, seasonal, fresh produce, grass-fed, pasture raised, hormone-free/organic animal products?
Are you taking time out for yourself, your body, your mind and your spirit each week – some kind of additional wellness self care practice for mental and physical maintenance and balance.
Create some basic structure in your weekly wellness routine and embrace the 80/20 rule – what you do 80% of the time is what matters most and gives you the freedom to enjoy the 20% .
Finally, just remember that the mindset and psychology you adopt in your approach to wellness in post 50 is about paying it forward and continuing to make deposits in your wellness bank that will serve you in spades as you enter your later years.
Choose today, how you want to look and feel in the next phase of your life and then check in with yourself. You can use your years of wisdom to reshape your health and wellness today for the rest of your life ahead – a life of health, energy, vitality and capability.
I hope you got value from today’s message. Thank you for reading.
Until next time, stay strong and live well!
ZT.
