I grew up right next to Boston. That means I’m a Boston Celtics fan. Lifelong.
Last year, Celtics star player Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon during a playoff game. This was a devastating injury, for Tatum and for the whole team. At the time, it was unknown whether Tatum would even get to play at all this year.
Three weeks ago, Tatum’s status was upgraded, putting him in position to make his season debut. How he would be able to perform was a different question. My Boston friend Marty immediately texted, “Great news. Let’s hope he doesn’t re-injure himself.” Then mutual friend Frank texted, “Agree. I’m worried.”
My text response was, “AND, let’s picture a big smile on his face whenever he takes the floor and at the end of the game because of an impressive and joyous experience.”
Loss vs. Opportunity. Glass half empty or glass half full? Actually, it’s both at the same time.
Can our attitude impact our getting old? Science says Yes. Last week I read a CNN website headline, “When It Comes To Aging Well, Attitude Is Everything.” The article went on to say that despite the stereotype that the body and brain automatically decline as people get older, research shows that almost 50% of people improve with age. This fact is documented in the new study by Yale’s Dr. Becca Levy, published this month in the journal Geriatrics. The study followed more than 11,000 oldsters for about a decade. Dr. Levy points to long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, who, on her fourth try, finally succeeded in making a 53-hour, 110-mile, world-record swim from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64.
The secret isn’t a special supplement or a complicated diet. What seems to really matter is a positive attitude about aging. Three or four years ago I might have thought that’s an overstatement. That was my first reaction to the subtitle of Dr. Levy’s book Breaking The Age Code – How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long & How Well You Live. After reading her book and working with Dr. Levy for the past two years, I’m now a firm believer.
It’s not genetics, it’s attitude. And it’s true there are things we cannot control — life is change and the changes can be difficult, sometimes very difficult. At the same time, people who believe that aging is both loss and possibility live an average of 7½ years longer and are less likely to manifest dementia than people who believe life peaks in middle age and then it’s all downhill after that.
Most all of us have learned throughout our lives that old is bad, young is good. Nursery rhymes, movies, advertisements, birthday cards — old people are frail, over-the-hill and invisible. We’re taught to apologize for being old and to feel ashamed for being alive. As I wrote recently, it’s OK to wear glasses or hearing aids, but if you use a cane or have gray hair or wrinkles, then you appear to be damaged goods.
It’s not too late to change our attitudes about getting old — and that change will help us to live better and live longer. Also, we have a responsibility to change our beliefs about aging so we can start helping the next generations, so we can be role models and so we can live our legacy, not just leave our legacy.