A few weeks back, I wrote about resilience as a key trait to cope with the pandemic.
Turns out, it's also vital for healthy aging.
Kay van Norman, owner of "Brilliant Aging®", believes resilience is one cornerstone of what she calls a "vitality portfolio"; a plan with "assets" that requires " deposits".
Her blueprint is intentional, designed to keep you active, enabled, and adaptable, instead of accepting the notion that getting older inevitably leads to frailty, inactivity, and even disability.
To hear van Norman tell it, the model for senior care should be one of independence, motion, prevention, and purpose.
Yes, it requires more than good intentions, as in "I'd like to walk more, farther and for longer."
You have to invest in your plan with "deposits" of ageless enthusiasm and simple exercise.
Van Norman advises starting with activities that attach motion to everyday tasks; walk while you talk on the phone, for instance.
Also, attach a goal to your plan: I want to keep up with my children and grandchildren.
And rethink why you stopped moving in the first place.
Interestingly, Van Norman suggests successful seniors sometimes equate inactivity with success.
(Doing well means getting a riding mower, and parking the push mower.)
In the end, van Norman says it's about seniors creating a big world in which to age, and refusing to accept they do best when they are merely being taken care of.
Learn more at: https://sixtyandme.com/whats-your-vitality-plan-for-your-60s-and-beyond/