SPECIAL SECTION
FOR YOUR HEALTH
BY KEN DRUCK
WITH MORE than
;;,;;; Americans
turning ;; every day,
the challenges and
opportunities for each of
us personally, and as a
society, are unprecedented. Not only are we
rethinking what it
means to be ;;, ;; or ;;,
we’re facing an exciting,
uncertain future when it
comes to living longer. A
host of ethical, psychological,
technological and practical matters are looming before us. To
address them e;ectively, we need
to start with ourselves.
To live our best lives, we must
put our houses in order, and I’m
not talking about wills, trusts or
living to ;;;. I’m referring to
coming of age emotionally,
spiritually and in our closest relationships. This means facing and overcoming
fears about getting older, compassionately greeting our older selves, carving
out action plans for our best possible
future and making peace with life
itself. When we do these things, we are
ready to look beyond ourselves to see
how we can leave the world a better,
safer place for our children, grandkids
and future generations.
Successful aging takes courage. The
demands of each season of life require us
to be brave. And humble. I coined the
term Courageous Aging to help myself,
and others like me, who are determined
to make the most of each precious
breath, day, moment and relationship.
To do this, and harvest the biggest
opportunities, we must overcome the
biggest challenges of getting older.
Here’s an outline of how to do this.
Awaken to a higher level of personal
awareness about age-related issues. A
Courageous Aging audit is a self-assess-ment inventory that uncovers issues,
unveils our vision, charts our trajectory and lays the groundwork for looking at opportunities that come with
getting older.
Reimagine the future. Once
we’ve had a chance to see where
we’re headed, we must give
ourselves time and permission to consider new-found options for getting
older. Imagining our best
possible future is an
awakening unto itself.
The possibilities are as
unlimited as they are
uplifting and transformative.
Opening our minds and hearts
allows us to re-energize our lives.
Formulate an action plan.
Once we set our sights on what’s
possible—and envision ourselves
in a “perfect world”—we’re ready
to put together an action plan
outlining what it’s going to take
to get from here to there.
Be a work in progress.
The critical path to our best
possible self and future comes together
over time. As we learn to be more
authentic and true to ourselves, the
masks, pretense, arrogance and need
for status fall away. Being all grown up
does not, however, mean losing our playfulness, flexibility, open-mindedness,
irreverence, sense of wonder or creativity. Nor are we ;;; percent free of our
insecurities, fears and demons. It means
;nally beginning to feel comfortable in
our own skin.
Do the work and leave a legacy of
love. Cultivating freedom, peace and
calm and participating in daily practices that bring them about takes time
and e;ort. The reward—that we get to
enjoy life as never before, pay the good
things forward, free ourselves of old
fears and insecurities, and find deep
peace—is in the e;ort. By putting our
houses in order, and saying and doing
everything important, we live our lives
as fully as possible, pay the good forward
and leave a legacy of love. C
Ken Druck is the author of Courageous
Living/Courageous Aging: Your Best
Years Ever Reimagined ( kendruck.com;
not available at Costco).
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†These statements have not been evaluated by the
Food and Drug Administration. This product is not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease. ©2017 Natrol LLC
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