{"id":20399,"date":"2017-07-06T13:21:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T20:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicalfitnessnetwork.org\/public\/?p=20399"},"modified":"2017-07-05T12:00:16","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T19:00:16","slug":"healthy-aging-decades-30s-40s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/healthy-aging-decades-30s-40s\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Aging by the Decades: Your 30s and 40s"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is challenging to try to cover such a broad topic as aging over the decades. Each one of us is different and our lives reflect our own unique choices and belief systems. However, I do feel that sharing my thoughts on how to\u00a0age well based on my\u00a0experiences and making\u00a0some of the suggestions\u00a0I would make if you were my client is well worth the effort.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am making\u00a0recommendations \u2013 or suggestions as I call them \u2013 so that you can consider just what you might want to do about your own priorities \u2013 and values \u2013 going forward. I am not aware of anyone in my past giving me such valuable advice\u00a0so it is with this thought in mind that I continue where I left off in\u00a0PART I of this series<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

What I learned from my\u00a030s<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In\u00a0my 30s, I learned the hard way that change can come very unexpectedly and quickly, and that both mental and physical training are crucial\u00a0to being able to handle\u00a0all of the eventualities to the best of our abilities.<\/p>\n

My life changed dramatically. Up until 1982 \u2013 just before my 35th birthday \u2013 my life post Air Force had been mediocre and I had become increasingly frustrated and confused about the path I\u00a0had taken \u2013 professionally, personally and emotionally \u2013 but I had some kind of stability. The event that threw me off balance\u00a0was a written note that my former wife left on the dining room table in June of 1982 stating that\u00a0she had left me.<\/p>\n

This triggered\u00a0a chain reaction\u00a0which came to a conclusion in 1989 when we finally divorced. This seven year period was one of turmoil, significant change, and one that spanned to my mid 40s. The upheaval included financial, emotional, physical, spiritual, personal, professional, and every other form of stress imaginable.<\/p>\n

My inner and outer life changed dramatically. I found a spiritual path in 1985 that I still follow today. In the same summer, I discovered the benefits of\u00a0writing and speaking as well. On the other hand, my physical wellbeing remained relatively unchanged because of my choice to join my first gym in 1982 (new classes and relationships were added to my life) \u2013 and my running program kept me alive \u2013 and focused \u2013 on something I had grown to love.<\/p>\n

The regret, guilt, anger, resentment \u2013 and so much more from this period in my life such as trying to stay connected to my daughter who started college, were\u00a0most trying and difficult to navigate, but I gathered my thoughts (and all the strength I could muster) to start learning about me. I spent time re-evaluating and studying my habit and thought patterns \u2013 and my behavior\u00a0\u2013\u00a0to try and understand and\u00a0find the cause of my unhappiness with myself.\u00a0I had to change my attitude\u00a0about how I viewed myself and whether I could finally accept and love myself unconditionally in order to change my life.\u00a0This, as it turned out, was the greatest challenge of my life and I KNEW I was up to it!<\/p>\n

In the end, the\u00a0decision to become a fitness professional in 1990 was the best one I could have made because it allowed me to \u201ctake a step back\u201d and see the world through the eyes of my clients who were very often struggling with issues that were at least as complicated as mine \u2013 and in many ways more painful as well.<\/p>\n

When I say that our world can change in an instant \u2013 believe me \u2013 because my ex-wife\u2019s note was a game changer for me. I have never been\u00a0the same since\u00a0that day as I embarked on a journey of self \u2013 discovery that has yielded many positive and wonderful insights into who I am as a person \u2013 and what would constitute happiness for me. The lessons I learned during this period of my life have stayed with me to this very day and I consider myself a student not only of life \u2013 but MY life as well.<\/p>\n

Some suggestions for your 30s<\/strong><\/h4>\n