What do we mean by lifestyle when talking about holistic aging? No, it’s not “The Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous”, it’s one deliberately designed and built around the concepts of balanced living. It doesn’t matter where you live, the city, suburb or the country. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, the place you call home, or your possessions. None of that matters if you aren’t practicing habits that promote positive healthy choices. There is an adage that says “Money can’t buy health or happiness.” Those things come from choices, habits, change, and intention.
What is a healthy lifestyle? It is one lived with a conscience focus on diet, exercise, sleep, weight management, goal setting, activities and hobbies, connection with others, and practicing selflessness and gratitude. It’s a purposeful way of living mindfully to achieve balance through daily habits and choices. I think of it as a blueprint for achieving holistic aging.
For many of us growing old, the desire to live a positive healthy lifestyle requires acceptance, adaptability, and change. Other than birth and adolescence, there is no time guaranteed to bring bigger changes than aging. We all experience it, it is unavoidable and how we choose to navigate aging defines our lifestyle. Habits, routines, and choices that promote physical and mental wellness, spirituality, and loving connections with others are lifestyles based on achieving balance.
I am a huge advocate of self-reflection. It was the first step I took on my path toward holistic aging. We can’t make a conscious effort to achieve balance if we aren’t aware of ourselves, our habits, our thoughts, and our choices. Challenging our shortcomings, recognizing poor health habits, and accepting needed changes all become clear when we carefully examine ourselves. Find a quiet space, spend time alone take notes (either mentally or on paper), and explore your daily routines. Take a diary for a couple of days or a week and see how you spend your time and where your focus lies. It is hard to dispute facts, and your habits and choices will quickly become clear.
How much time do you spend sitting and not moving, what do you eat, how much sleep do you get, do you have meaningful connections with others, and where do you focus your thoughts? When you see your patterns, you can then make positive healthier choices, which leads to habits and achieves balance. What daily habits do you have that are positive steps toward living a balanced lifestyle? Do you recognize where you might need to improve? Are you spending time reflecting on your choices? The answers to these questions can provide a good starting place.
Intentionally living a positive healthy lifestyle leads to balance. That balance is a choice that leads to holistic practices and defines the endless possibilities of aging.
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