It’s almost time for September is Healthy Aging® Month! Get ready by taking stock of your passions and go for it. Grab onto that “back to school” feeling and do things to help yourself stay positive and active physically, socially, mentally and financially.
About Healthy Aging® Month
Healthy Aging® Month is an annual observance month designed to focus national attention on the positive aspects of growing older. The mission is to encourage everyone to take personal responsibility for their own health.
The month was created more than 25 years ago by Carolyn Worthington, publisher of the Healthy Aging® multi-media platform. “Our goal was to draw attention to the positive sides of growing older. We felt there needed to be a second time during the year in addition to May is Older American’s Month. September was chosen because so many people feel they can ‘get started’ more easily then. Maybe the back-to-school routine never really goes away.”
Ways to Celebrate Healthy Aging® Month
“Use September as the motivation to take stock of where you’ve been, what you really would like to do,” Worthington said. “And try it! Who says you have to follow a career related to what you studied in school? Who says, you can’t start your own home business later in life? Why not choose a new athletic goal (5K anyone?), or do something wildly different from anything you’ve done before? Only that person you see in the mirror!”
For more ideas, see the article on the Healthy Aging® website, Celebrate September Is Healthy Aging® Month by Reinventing Yourself!
Make it a Goal to Become an Active Traveler
Another way to retain your vibrancy and good health is to become an active traveler. There are so many reasons to get going … from a simple change of scenery, a chance to meet and socialize with new people, brush up on a skill or hobby, get fit or stay fit, stimulate your mind.
Through our experiences at the New York Times Travel Show as an official media partner, we have heard from thousands of 45-plus travelers that they want to combine active travel (but not always soooo active) with cultural experiences, local and insider activities and always with great food.
To help you with your dreaming and planning, from now through September, the editors of Healthy Aging® will be sharing ideas for active travel along with other tips for improving your lifestyle.
Here is one to get your travel dreams going …
Queenstown, New Zealand. Photo: ActiveAdventures.com
Walking Tour in New Zealand
One of the best ways to experience a destination is to ditch the car and set out on foot.
Why not go big and try a walking tour in New Zealand where the route, hotel and meals are all planned for you. You just need to arrive and enjoy the walk.
Rather than trying to plan the route yourself, you might enlist the aid of a professional tour operator like ActiveAdventures.com. A special trip they organize that is perfect for the active 45-plus crowd is their Active Adventures Elegant South trip by ActiveAdventures.com. The 11-day journey takes you through picture-perfect coastal areas at the top and bottom of the island. On the trip, you will experience clean, sandy beaches with crystal-clear water, beautiful coves and inlets with turquoise waters, and lush rainforest in the Marlborough Sounds.
To learn more about this trip and to read about reactions from travelers who have experienced the Elegant South trip, see the recent Healthy Aging® article, Experience Elegant South New Zealand With a Walking Tour.
Photo: DepositPhotos
10 Tips to Celebrate Healthy Aging® Month
Need more ideas and tips for successful aging. See our article “10 Tips to Celebrate Healthy Aging® Month.
Here are three tips:
1. Do not act your age or at least what you think your current age should act like.
What was your best year so far? 28? 40? Now? Picture yourself at that age and be it. Some people may say this is denial, but we say it’s positive thinking and goes a long way toward feeling better about yourself. (Tip: Don’t keep looking in the mirror, just FEEL IT!)
2. Be positive in your conversations and your actions every day.
When you catch yourself complaining, check yourself right there and change the conversation to something positive. (Tip: Stop watching the police reports on the local news.)
3. Ditch the downer friends.
Have negative friends who complain all of the time and constantly talk about how awful everything is? Drop them. As cruel as that may sound, distance yourself from people who do not have a positive outlook on life. They will only depress you and stop you from moving forward. Surround yourself with energetic, happy, positive people of all ages and you will be happier too.
(Tip: Smile often. It’s contagious and wards off naysayers.)
Want more ideas and tips? See the article, 10 Tips for Healthy Aging.
