Yes, there’s still time!

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do?

Are you longing to make a difference in the world?

Would you like to fine-tune or overhaul your life?

Do you want to pursue a passion or learn something new?

Whether you’re 60, 65, 70, or older, it’s not too late.

In fact, research has shown that learning, doing something new, spending time doing what matters to you, and staying engaged are all great ways to keep your brain healthy and to age well.

They did it!

Here are a few late in life accomplishments to inspire you to do something new:

George Weiss at 84 invented a game that was named Game of the Year by Creative Child magazine.

Grandma Moses, whose arthritis made it impossible to embroider anymore, shifted to painting at 76.

Porchon Lynch at 92 is strong, bright-eyed, and still teaching yoga.

Col. Saunders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken at 72.

Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa at 75.

George Bush learned to skydive at 72, and celebrated his 80th birthday by skydiving.

Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 77.

You can do it too!

So whatever it is you want to be or do or try or learn, get going. There’s still time but you don’t want to waste it.

What is it you want to do? Tell us in Comments below.

There are now 175 articles on Savoring Your Sixties. That’s a lot of writing for me and resources for you!

You’re always welcome to browse around, see what most interests you, and comment if you’re so moved.

However, if you’d prefer less browsing and more direction, check out these top articles from 2011. Just click the title to be instantly taken to the article. Enjoy!

Starting a New Career at 60

Who Inspires You?

5 Steps to Loving Your 60s (even if you’re dreading them)

Turning 60 — A Message from Me to You

What Christie Brinkley Can Teach Us about Aging Well

Life After 60 Isn’t All Downhill

Can There Be Anything Good About Turning 60?

5 Choices You May Regret

Do You Know What You Want to Do with Your Life?

The View from 62

The Best 60th Birthday Present

Life after 60 Inspiration: Porchon Lynch

photo courtesy of digitalart

Given how much I  struggled with turning 60,  I’m delightfully surprised to discover that, at this point in my life, neither my age nor my thoughts about my age are limiting me.

A New Vision

Last month on  my 62nd birthday,  I gave myself the gift of a new vision for my life. I spent an hour or so considering what I wanted my life to look like in the future and then creating a vision map, a pictorial representation of it.

I’m thrilled with my new vision. It’s colorful, exciting, and inspiring to me.

It wasn’t until after I was done that I realized that at no time while I was doing it had I had any thought about age.

No thought that I couldn’t do something because I was too old or it was too late.

I just allowed myself to dream about what I wanted and age was irrelevant — which is just how I want it to be!

Kick Off Your New Year with a New Vision

You can create a new vision for your life, too. It’s a great way to kick off the New Year.

Take an hour or so to connect with what you truly, deeply want in 2012. Set aside any doubts or concerns or limiting beliefs. Allow yourself to dream big. Let your answers come from your heart, your inner voice, the internal GPS of what lights you up.

If anything were possible, what would you want? Ask yourself this over and over again.

Then make a colorful picture you love that represents your answers, your vision for your life.

If you post the picture where you’ll see it often it will help you remember to focus on what you truly want.

Then take small, consistent, energizing steps towards your vision.

You just might be delightfully surprised by what you create for yourself in 2012.

Have fun!

This past Monday, I turned 62! Didn’t I just turn 60?!?!

The bad news is time does seem to be passing more quickly. The good news is I am so much happier than I was two years ago.

Dreaded 60

Oh, how I dreaded turning 60!

I often felt anxious, troubled, and afraid in my 59th year. I felt so trapped: I didn’t want to be 60 but I also didn’t want to be dead (which as far as I could figure out was the only alternative to turning 60!).

I struggled with my age that year for the first time ever and it shocked me. That struggle was intensified by the death of my mom; sudden, drastic changes in my mom-in-law’s health; work disappointments and disruptions for me and my husband; and the disturbing backdrop of the plummeting economy.

I’m thrilled to have made it through all that!

Life after 60

Once again, my age has become mostly irrelevant to me.

Yes, time does seem scarcer. And I’m more aware than I used to be of the uncertainty of my future and of those I love. While this scares me sometimes, most of the time I don’t worry about it. I just live my days, doing my best to enjoy them, and to make the most of the time I have.

Now and then I have a pang about growing older. Like the resistance I felt the day before my birthday. “I don’t want to be 62!” I pouted to myself, wanting to lie on the floor, pound my fists, and have a temper tantrum.

But, unlike the year I turned 60 – when these kinds of thoughts were persistent, pervasive, and lingering – now such thoughts are infrequent. I banish them quickly by reminding myself that I prefer growing older to the alternative.

Most of the time these days, I’m feeling happy, experiencing joy, and loving my life.

I am savoring my sixties and deeply grateful for that!

How about you? What has your journey to and through 60 been like? Click on Comments below and write away.

Memory loss. Cognitive decline. Alzheimer’s. Dementia.

Having our mind go downhill or vacant is one of our biggest fears as we age. For some of us, the fear niggles occasionally and faintly. For others, the fear roars frequently.

The good news is:

1) Scientists are discovering that cognitive decline is not an inevitable companion to aging and
2) There are ways to counteract the brain’s changes as we age.

There are no guarantees of course. And this is promising, hopeful news.

Boost your brain

Based on current research, the authors of  7 Surprising Ways to Boost Your Brain  identify seven ways to keep your brain quick and sharp.

1) Google often. Over time, repeated internet searching builds cognitive strength. A study showed 3 times more brain activity in regular internet searchers compared to first-time searchers.

2) Exercise. Exercise can not only stave off or delay dementia it can reverse brain aging. Plus exercise done outside in nature enhances its brain-expanding effect by 20%.

3) Brush and floss. Poor dental health is linked to poor brain health.

4) Drink alcohol sparingly. The more alcohol a person drinks, the smaller his or her brain volume becomes. This effect is even stronger in women.

5) Eat blueberries. Purple-hued fruits help sharpen your thinking.

6) Do puzzles. In a study of men and women doing puzzles, their brains performed like those of people 10 years younger. (If puzzles intrigue you, this site has an enormous array of all kinds of free brain boosting puzzles.)

7 ) Meditate. Meditators experienced growth in their cortex, the area of the brain that controls memory, language, and sensory processing.

 Now What?

To give your brain some extra boost, I recommend you:

• Read 7 Surprising Ways to Boost Your Brain to get more details on these strategies.

•  Pick one or two of the 7 strategies that appeal most to you that you’re not currently doing.

• Begin experimenting with and incorporating those strategies into your life.

What’s more important than the health of your brain? Take action now to nourish, protect, and strengthen it.

What do you think of this? What strategy are you going to experiment with? Click on Comments below and write away.

This is the best time ever to be a woman “in the neighborhood” of 60!

Every day I see wise, witty, warm women inspiring us about new ways to age.

Here are a few of my favorites. Let their messages move you. These women are so spot on I think you’ll want to read more of their writings. Subscribe to their blogs, join their Facebook pages, and follow them on Twitter.

Enjoy!

Sixty is the New Sixty

Time after time, Dorothy Sander of Aging Abundantly articulates in a way I only wish I could what I’ve been thinking, feeling, and experiencing. All that “60 is the new 40” stuff seems a tad off to me. Read this for a wiser, truer perspective on being 60.

The End of Aging as We Know It

Thankfully, aging isn’t what it used to be. Although Barbara Hannah Grufferman’s focus is women in their 50s this article brings good news to those of us past our 50s too.

Things You Must Not Say if You Don’t Want to Look Old

Karin Quirk brings a fresh, funny, savvy, sassy voice to life after 70. Those of us younger than 70 will still find much of value in her writing. She’s a new blogger and I’m looking forward to hearing more from her.

I’m Proud to Be __ Years Old

And here’s something different from the kind of blog I usually follow.  Ari Seth Cohen of Advanced Style takes photos of the most stylish and creative older folks he can find on New York City’s streets. If you’re into fashion and style, I think you’ll enjoy his photos. And even if you’re not, I think you’ll love seeing these women. I did!

What do you think of these? Do you have other favorite writers or bloggers? Let us know below in Comments.

One day I was in the grocery store, feeling drained, tired, overwhelmed, and negative. (Yes, I have those days now and then, too.) Dragging myself through the store, I turned the corner and 3 women were heading my way, arms locked together, singing the Beatles, Ticket to Ride.

I burst out laughing at the unexpectedness of this and the fun they were having.

My energy instantly changed.

My tiredness and negativity vanished. My energy shot up. I felt happy again.

We all know how tremendously powerful laughter can be. We’ve experienced humor changing our mood, stopping an argument, shifting a perspective, or brightening our day.

According to two recent articles,  9 Ways Humor Can Heal  and  Laughter: Your Rx for Better Health   , numerous scientific studies have shown humor has marvelous effects on health and happiness. Laughter: 

• Has an aerobic exercise affect
• Encourages better communication
• Combats fear
• Cultivates optimism
• Comforts
• Spreads happiness
• Relaxes the whole body
• Releases endorphins that help us feel good
• Reduces pain
• Boosts the immune system
• Reduces stress
• Encourages creativity
• Promotes positive thinking.

All that plus it’s fun! Maybe laughter truly is the best medicine.

It’s a scientific fact that you get the same health benefits from self-induced, “fake” laughter (there’s nothing particularly funny) as you do from “real” laughter.

So start today to find reasons to laugh and laugh even if you can’t find any reasons to.

What makes you laugh? How do you bring humor into your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just click on Comments below.

I had a wonderful weekend.

A group of my husband Denny’s college friends came to Samish Island for a visit. This group of friends has been getting together every year for nearly 40 years. They are good, close friends who’ve seen each other through marriages, divorces, the joys and sorrows of children, aging parents, death, hot flashes, and much more. In the midst of it all, has been their love for each other and lots of laughter.

This weekend the 11 of us talked and laughed and ate and drank and laughed. We took a walk in the woods and along the water. We sat for hours and hours on the deck reading, napping, talking and laughing.

The weather was so lovely here we had dinner outside (one night until 9:30, an unusual event in the Pacific Northwest where it cools off quickly once the sun goes down), dining on crab, talking, and laughing.

Saturday night some of our Island friends held a joint 60th birthday party. They rented the Community Hall and got a DJ to play 60’s music. We joined them and danced and laughed and danced and laughed some more.

Hmm, are you catching that one theme here is laughter?

By the time our friends left Sunday evening, I was ready for a little quiet time to myself. I also was filled up with well-being, happiness, contentment, and peace and felt deep and immense gratitude for my life.

Why Am I Telling You All This?

Because embedded in my weekend are three powerful ways all of us can improve our moods. Ways we can help ourselves to experience more calm, peace, contentment, well-being, and joy. And who doesn’t want more of that?

What are the magic ingredients to give you all this?

1) Laughter.

2) Being socially connected.

3) Getting outside.

Various research studies have shown that laughter can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity.

A recent study done at the University of Rochester showed almost everyone was happier on weekends than during the week. The biggest sources of that weekend cheer were feeling socially connected and being outside.

My wonderful weekend was filled with all 3 of these: laughter, social connection, and being outside.  No wonder I felt so good at the end of it!

What About You?

What do you do for laughter, social connection, and getting outside? How does it affect your mood? What can you do to get even more of this in your life?

Thrive at 55 and Beyond

 On October 6,  I’m launching a group coaching program, Thrive at 55 and Beyond: Discover and Create What You Truly Want!   If you want to create more joy, passion, and meaning in your life, this program could be for you. Thrive is limited to 8 women. Check it out now so you don’t miss your chance to join us.

Most people, at some point start thinking of themselves as old. Then they start talking about themselves as old in their minds and to other people.

It might sound like this.

“I’m too old to  ______.”

To wear a short skirt. To climb a mountain. To go back to college. Whatever it might be. 

Or it might be something like this.

“Not bad for a _____.”

“I’ve got some wrinkles but not bad for a 60 year old.”

There are many ways we could think and talk about ourselves as old. Right?

The amazing truth is that thinking of ourselves as old doesn’t happen at the same age for each of us. It’s not pre-destined that at a certain number we’re old.  It’s in our minds.

As we’ve seen, you can be a  bright-eyed yoga teacher at 92  or a Guiness World Record body builder at 74 or have a  hit board game at 84.  Wonder if these people think of themselves as old?

What do you think? Is it a problem for us to think of ourselves as old? Does it limit us? Is it just facing reality? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

If there were a Never Give Up award, George Weiss just might win it.

A wallpaper hanger by day, Weiss spent much of his free time in the basement of his Brooklyn, N.Y. home pursuing his passion: inventing. His 50 years of “tinkering,” as he calls it, led to about 80 inventions. All were rejected by manufacturers.

This year, the 84 year old Weiss triumphed. His latest invention, Dabble, a word game, is now available in 50 stores around the U.S. and will soon be a mobile app. Dabble was named 2011 Game of the Year by Creative Child magazine.

Weiss is a terrific example of pursuing one’s passions and never giving up, no matter what your age. He offered this advice in recent interviews:

 

“As long as you’re passionate about what you’re doing, never give up. Even though I’ve always hoped and tried for one of my inventions to come to fruition, a lot of my satisfaction comes from seeing the finished product that I created with my two hands and having the people I know value my ideas and support me in each endeavor.”

“Don’t work on something because you think it will make you money. Work on something that’s meaningful to you. If you do that, you’re more likely to find success.”

If Weiss can pursue his passion at 84, what can you do at 60 plus?