Who wants to live up to 100? Everybody.
Now, who wants to drag on for decades at the end of life and not even be able to wipe their own ass? Nobody.
But wanting or not wanting is not enough. To remain mentally and physically fit in old age, you need to get off your butt and take action.
And you need to start now.
A sound mind in a sound body
Mind and body influence each other.
A broken body will destroy a sound mind just as a broken mind will destroy a sound body.
So, you need to take care of both. Start exercising today. Eat the broccoli at dinner tonight. Skip Netflix for a while and start doing something creative, something that challenges your mind.
It’s a choice between becoming a couch potato who gobbles up celebrity gossip and the-world-is-falling-apart news 24/7 and a guy whose sharp mind and healthy body allow him to take his grandchildren to the park and even help them with the trigonometry lesson.
So, which will it be?
Don’t forget your soul
I’m not saying this so that you don’t burn in hell for the rest of eternity.
I don’t give a damn about the afterlife. I’m concerned with this life. To take care of your soul means becoming a good person. It means building a good character — in this life.
“Competence is how good you are when there is something to gain. Character is how good you are when there is nothing to gain. People will reward you for competence. But people will only love you for your character.” — Mark Manson
By taking care of your body and mind, you become competent. By taking care of your soul, you become a person with a good character, loved by family and friends.
When my time comes, I want to die fast
I want to live a long life, remaining physically, mentally, and spiritually fit until the very end. And, when my time comes, I want it to be as brief as possible.
Will things turn out exactly the way I want? That I don’t know, but I’m doing my part.
I want to be able to take my grandchildren to the mall while their parents have some time off. I want to be able to write good stuff, even if I need to dictate everything to a robot. I want to be able to contribute somehow to my community and loved ones. Will I be a burden from time to time? Of course, but I want to minimize that part.
Oh, almost forgot, I want to be able to wipe my own ass too.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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From The Good Men Project on Medium
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Photo credit: Steven Weeks on Unsplash