It is one thing to take steps to physically fight ageing and the effects of time, but the truth is that youth is also a mental construct. We all know someone who is mentally old before their time, just as we probably all know someone who is ‘young at heart’. One of the best ways to fight ageing is to mentally buck the trend.
This is not advocating going to a nightclub and hammering shots with people in their early 20s, although that is our right if we wish to do so. This is about holding on to the things we enjoy doing in our youth, and making time to fit these things into our lifestyle. For example, if we listened to punk music in our youth, heading out and seeing our favourite bands from back in the day, or even checking out the new blood will leave us with a beaming smile on our face and reminders of what we loved about it when we were young. If we were all about cars when we were younger, throw caution to the wind and accept the gift that someone gives you of bombing around a racetrack in a sports car. It is far too easy to think to ourselves, “I’m too old for that” because it becomes true when we start to believe it.
Within reason, the way that we dress is also another way to rejuvenate ourselves and fight ageing. It doesn’t even have to look new. Styles that were popular in the 50s and 60s can be tweaked, and indeed often are, so they look just as trendsetting now as they did originally. There is nothing more refreshing than trading in a pair of brown leather brogues for a pair of Vans, just as there is nothing more suggestive of our old age than adopting elasticated trousers too early. It’s all about how we feel we can be slightly rebellious with our wardrobe.
Sensibility is key. No one is suggesting taking up Judo with two plastic hips. But there is no need to mentally resign ourselves to getting old.
