You Have a Choice

The cat’s out of the bag and there’s no going back. Your grandmother’s belief that how she ages was primarily determined by genes and a little bit of luck, well, that belief has gone the way of the eight-track player. According to the MacArthur Foundation’s 10-year study on aging, approximately 70% of physical aging and 50% of mental aging is up to us. Lifestyle is a major factor in how we age. Which means that we have a choice about how we want to live our lives.

It is these choices that we make every day that determine whether we live the last decades of our lives slowly deteriorating, impaired and isolated, or continuing to grow, accommodating life’s curveballs, staying vital and flourishing. How much we move, learn, connect with others, seek meaning, avoid creating stress, eat well – these are the decisions that determine how we age. Making these choices not as a single decision but as part of a commitment to a lifestyle that acknowledges our inherited human needs – that will make the difference in our lives.

By Dr. Roger Landry, MD, MPH

Dr. Roger Landry is the President of Masterpiece living and award-winning author of the book, Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging.

(Reprinted with permission of Masterpiece Living (MPL). Originally published in MPL’s bi-weekly “Fireside Conversations.”)

Read more inspiration from Dr. Landry by purchasing his book: Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging. Click here.

Share This

Leave a Reply

Subscribe Via Email

Font Resizer

Author Spotlight