How to Thrive...at Any Age

The truth is, I do indulge myself a little the more in pleasure, knowing that this is the proper age of my life to do it - Samuel Pepys

My best friend is learning how to play guitar.  She never wanted to be a rock star, as far as I know, and best I can recall, her singing is not going to make her famous.  But she's always wanted to play an instrument and when she tried guitar, she fell in love with it.

I myself am learning to speak Swedish and am trying to get in shape for a triathlon.

Odd behaviors for women over 40?  Perhaps, but Ang and I don't care.  We love learning and we love our new-found hobbies.

Sometimes I think that's one problem people have - just doing something they enjoy.  We've always got this huge To Do list in our heads and we feel guilty if we put that aside for a while and do something for no other reason than we want to.  But guess what.  I can do those dishes now and I'll just have more to do tomorrow, or I can put them off and sit and play a game with my family now.  I can worry about the bills that need to be paid though my funds are low, or I can just forget about it while I watch Doctor Who with my hubby.

One thing is for sure.  "Life moves pretty fast.  You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

One way I'm going to indulge in pleasure this weekend is by going to a concert with my sister-in-law.  She won tickets and we are so excited to be seeing the classic rock group Heart.  Now there are 2 ladies who are really thriving after 40.  They still sound amazing and I can't wait to see them live.  If you aren't familiar with their music, just watch this little reminder and I bet you'll either say, "Oh, yeah.  I know them," or, "Holy cow!  I have to get some Heart!"  Or both.

Enjoy!

Beginning the Journey

"The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible. ~Judith Regan"

I'm discovering that it's not always easy to pay little attention to aging. It creeps up on you while you're sleeping, settles into your joints and your brain, and whispers to you, "You can't do that. You're too old to start something new."

But we have to fight it. Not with Botox and face lifts, but with energy, enthusiasm and the desire to learn something new. I once heard that every time you learn something, you create a wrinkle in your brain as it "expands" to accommodate that new knowledge. I don't know if that's true, but if so, I prefer creating brain wrinkles to ones elsewhere.

So I'm writing this blog to discover and share ways to create brain wrinkles, fight aging, and thrive after 40, an age that many of us never expected to arrive so quickly. I hope you'll join me on the journey.