We used to talk about our families, our favourite sports teams, what’s wrong with our government, and whatever else came up. We kibitzed around, poked fun at each other, and, most important, were there for each other as we dealt with life’s challenges – growing up, finding our mates, pursuing our careers, and coping with the inevitable problems our kids encountered.
Now? Now we get together and we talk about aches and pains! If it’s not arthritis or rheumatism it’s lack of sufficient sleep or sagging skin. Worse, some of us are dealing with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and even heart problems. We’ve heard each others’ stories many times, but the same old aches and pains tapes keep bubbling up over and over.
Yeah, aging inevitably brings health issues, some of them chronic, but why do we obsess so much about them? There’s more to life than our aches and pains, isn’t there? I think it just makes it worse when we focus so much on the down side of things. How do we fall into that trap?
In fact, when you think about it, we’re a lot better off than earlier generations of older people. We have much more information at our finger tips regarding healthy diets, exercise routines that are good for us and not too difficult to do and better medical support for our health needs. Maybe we just have to change our way of thinking, develop more positive approaches, break the “poor me” habits.
There are a lot of older people who don’t let their aches and pains stop them from enjoying their lives. Look at the septagenarian and octagenarian athletes who continue to compete in physical activities they love, like running, biking and swimming. I’ve talked to a few of these folks and I know they also have aches and pains, probably more than I do because they use their bodies so fully.
Okay, I got it. We have a choice. Focus on what isn’t so good or focus on what I can still do if I just go for it with some enthusiasm. Yes, I have to accept that aging brings some health challenges but much of it is pretty manageable and it doesn’t help matters to obsess about it. Better still, if I focus on going for life, I haven’t got so much time to think about the down side.
We can accept the aches and pains and get on with life. The choice is ours. For starters:
- Monitor thought patterns—reject those that feel like a broken record concerning aches and pains;
- Hang around more with others who have found ways of putting their problems in the background and are getting on with life;
- Seek information about ways of minimising the effects of your aches and pains.
By Mike Milstein. Read more here.