Prolong Your Life With This Attitude-"I've Gotta Hustle"
As we get older we gradually weaken and lose some or a lot of
our ability to do things. There are two reasons for this
deterioration and they are the process of aging and the decline
in usage of our abilities.
Any power, strength, faculty or ability that we possess as
human beings, mental or physical, can be strengthened by
repetition and increased usage. Conversely, the opposite occurs
when we do just the opposite and stop using our abilities. When
our faculties are relieved from being needed and required to
function and are no longer used the body realizes this and
allows something to happen called "atrophy" which comes from the
Greek for "shrinking". This results in a loss of function. It
happens to the physical such as strength, reflexes, balance,
stamina, coordination, etc. and the mental such as arithmetic,
percentages, planning, problem solving decision-making,
judgment, etc.
While going through life we drop doing things one by one,
especially the physical, while we are caught up in having too
much to do. The biggest change comes when we retire at which
time we no longer have to use our mental faculties as well as
the physical ones. If we allow ourselves to sink into an
inactive state we can end up in a sorry state in later life and
we've all seen examples of this. Our powers do "atrophy".
We can do something about this. Remember the two reasons for
deterioration: the process of aging and the decrease in usage.
The process of aging cannot be stopped but perhaps it can be
slowed. The loss of abilities due to decreased usage is where we
can really make a difference.
First we address the easiest part, the physical. Institute a
good aerobic exercise program consisting of 45 minutes of
walking that benefits heart and lungs as well as muscles. Add to
this a 20-minute weight lifting regimen for upper body and a few
calisthenics and you should be fine.
The more difficult part is the mental decline. I see articles
touting the measurable improvement resulting from mental
"calisthenics" such as going through program of exercises
designed to use mental functions. It seems a little lame to me.
I think it's better to involve yourself in doing things that
require the use of mental powers like part time jobs, an officer
of various clubs and service organizations, computer and
internet, writing letters to the editor, an online business and
many things that are available. These will require the use of
mental faculties and keep them strong and limber.
These activities should require you to be putting something on
the line where the outcome is in doubt and depends on your
successful completion of the task or project thus generating a
degree of anxiety. Your best mental faculties are then called
into play.
If you have enough of these activities you find yourself waking
up in the morning and thinking, "I've gotta hustle" to get
things done or I'll fall behind or fail. This also generates a
level of anxiety that is communicated down into the deepest
levels of bodily functioning where primitive processes such as
defense against infection, immune system functioning, resisting
cancerous changes, slowing cell breakdown and the aging process
and resistance to deterioration in general are going on. These
processes are galvanized in a positive way to help slow these
negative effects.
This can go a long way towards prolonging our lives, keeping us
healthy and maintaining us as capable functioning persons deep
into old age.
End article.