Backward Aging 3.7 – Role Model?

Looking for an optimum super ager role model? A good one is Robert Marchand, a 105-year-old Frenchman, who just broke the world record for one-hour cycling in the class of people over 100 years of age. He rode more than 22 kilometers (around 14 miles) ! Quite a lot for a 105-year-old man! Most adults could not even approach this record.

So what is his secret? He eats healthy foods, engages in at least one hour of vigorous physical daily exercise, and has the will to keep growing whatever happens—even surviving two world wars.

Now, he lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment with a small $800 pension, runs errands, cooks his own food, does his own home cleanup. He has the support of many friends, although as he says, “the older you live the less old friends do you have“. They all disappear! So you have to make new ones all the time. Which is a good advice at any age!

Take a look at this video!

An effort is of the essence in backward aging. That’s where self-esteem plays a major role. You have to develop the habit of winning over the fear of discomfort. This has to become part of your being, and you have to be proud of it.

In fact, the most important factor of backward aging is self-discipline and character. Determination to take good care of your health, despite all the temptations of instant gratifications with unhealthy products and bad habits, makes the difference between super-agers and “normal people“.

Robert Marchand also says that you should never stop working out. When you cease moving and exercising, your muscles atrophy. As science shows, your brain needs activity to function well, too. When you stop exercising your body or brain, it’s much more difficult to start again, as we all know. If you’ve ever had to stop being active, you may remember the pain of exercising after being sedentary.

Sometimes engaging in a challenging activity can be frustrating, tiring, and even physically uncomfortable. However, those feelings are short term, in the long run, your mind and body will feel better.

I stumbled over this on the Internet:
“The Marine Corps has a motto that embodies this principle: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” That is, the discomfort of exertion means you’re building muscle and discipline. Superagers are like Marines: They excel at pushing past the temporary unpleasantness of intense effort. Studies suggest that the result is a more youthful brain that helps maintain a sharper memory and a greater ability to pay attention“.

As people get older, research shows, they cultivate happiness by avoiding unpleasant situations. This is sometimes a good idea, as when you avoid a rude neighbor. But if people consistently sidestep the discomfort of mental effort or physical exertion, this restraint can be detrimental to the brain. All brain tissue gets thinner from disuse. If you don’t use it, you lose it.

So take up a challenging activity. Learn a foreign language. Take an online college course. Master a musical instrument. Work that brain. Make it a year to be remembered that the result is a more youthful brain that helps maintain a sharper memory and a greater ability to pay attention.

The beauty of backward aging is that not only do you live a longer, healthier, happier life but you can give your life more meaning. By constantly discovering new domains, new fields of interest, you can realize your full life potential, even share your experience to help younger people improve the quality of their own life, although some may not listen to you 🙂

In my next letter, I’ll talk about other life changes to become a super ager.

Stay tuned,

Boris Clair

PS: Discover a new free fascinating personal development experience by clicking here.

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   November 26, 2018 at 10:54 PM

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