You might think this is odd, but a couple of years ago I started to have chats with my 95 year-old self.
It is especially odd when you consider that I may not even live to be 95 years old!
Basically, I ask my 95 year-old self for advice. After all, everything I do directly impacts him.
We are aligned on the goal to maximize our joy, fulfillment and contribution we make for others throughout however many years we have left on the planet. With that in mind, here is some of his most meaningful advice:
1. Spiritual Life. “Nurture our spiritual life. It gives us peace and improves the quality of our life in so many ways. See others as their Spiritual Selves.” He likes my new morning meditation routine.
2. Investing, Part 1: Our Money. “Invest significantly in our retirement funding and remember the magic of compound interest.” He reminds me that we may live even beyond 95 and wants to make sure we can take care of our self.
At the same time . . . he also tells me that “investing” money is not just for the stock market. There has to be some balance. He highly recommends investing money in quality experiences NOW – especially when they involve family and friends that we love so much. “We don’t know how long we are going to live, so living in the ‘now’ is also important. And this makes for great memories as we age. Remember to take lots of pictures and label them – so we remember! Also, don’t buy a lot of junk/stuff/things – they bring no lasting pleasure.”
3. Investing, Part 2: Our Time. “Seize the Day – you have seen the movie. Savor every second we have no matter how long we end up living. Life is a true blessing to be embraced. Certainly we want to invest time in our work, but make sure to invest time in fun, family, and friends. Relationships are what make our lives special.”
4. Health. Since we are imagining life at 95, then taking care of our health is vital. “We don’t want to just survive into older age, we want to thrive physically as long as possible. I see a lot of my contemporaries who are overweight and have no upper body strength – make sure you keep us in shape!” He was very pleased when I started taking advice from the book Younger Next Year, which you can learn more about here.
He wants to make sure I am taking care of our brain as well as our body. It turns out that physical activity is the number one factor in keeping the brain healthy. Learn more about brain health at this blog.
5. Making a Difference. We have been blessed to have work during our life which gives us joy and helps make a difference in the lives of others and the world. “Keep working at making a difference as we age – even if it means doing so as a volunteer many years from now IF our stamina wanes. But the goal should be to continue our work full time well into our older years.”
6. Keep Learning. “It’s fun to learn and enriches our life.” He likes how I keep working through my long reading list and my plan to start a Tai Chi class soon.
How about you? No matter your age, I encourage you to have a chat with your 95 year old self to see what advice she/has for you. You are in this together!
