I was recently talking with a friend who’s a gerontologist, and he was sharing things his patients who live to be 100+ have in common. It was no surprise to hear centenarians are almost always active and moving, but new research also reveals flexibility is key to living a long, healthy life. Flexibility supports continued mobility, keeps your joints healthy and helps prevent injuries from falls. The message here – keep rolling out your mat.

For years my friend has trained his interns to engage elderly patients in conversation by jogging their memory. To ask them about important moments in their lives and important moments in history they’ve lived through. To talk about their family, their favorite things to do and their favorite things to eat. His staff encourages them to keep doing what they love – whether that’s knitting, walking, swimming, playing board games, etc. Just keep moving and find as much joy as they can throughout their days.

Shortly after this conversation, I was listening to a blog where my favorite author and her wife were sharing their bucket lists and then said something interesting. The truth is, in this country we tend to work so hard for so long that by the time we retire we’ve lost our zest for life. We’re either too depleted, unhealthy or afraid to tackle that long-awaited wish list. Hmmm – I say Carpe Diem!

“Life really does begin at 40. Up until then you’re just doing research.” ~ Carl Jung

According to a recent article on Business Insider by Kim Schweitz (Nov. 2023) scientists have long identified eight common traits among centenarians. Among those are a love for helping others, a strong sense of responsibility and reliability, a positive, can-do attitude, strong social connections and curiosity. They are almost always willing to lend a helping hand, learn new things and try new things.

I think traits like these should be adopted by all! And…we should tick items off our bucket list whenever possible. I’ll leave you with one more quote:

“No one’s life should be rooted in fear. We are born for wonder, for joy, for hope, for love, to marvel at the mystery of existence, to be ravished by the beauty of the world, to seek truth and meaning, to acquire wisdom, and by our treatment of others to brighten the corner of where we are.” ~ Dean R. Koontz

XOXO, Heather