YOU NEVER STOP GROWING!  That’s one of the interesting things in life, that we never really stop growing. Some of us tend to think of ourselves as real versions of Benjamin Button, getting younger by the day. Truth is, though, that we are all growing older. As you do grow older, you can and should also grow wiser, more experienced, and tender. Unfortunately, many of us grow older by becoming isolated, bitter and hardened. Here’s how to avoid all that.
1. FIGHT for your rights. This means don’t let yourself go the way of the masses. You have a right to stay healthy, happy and carefree. This fight may mean changing your friends, jobs, churches or even some family members. You can’t change their views—but you can change whether you decide to deal with them. You need to develop enough respect for yourself to do what is best for you.
2. OPEN your heart! Listen to music you know nothing about; read books that you ordinarily wouldn’t; volunteer; rent a really old, classic movie and watch it in the dark at home. These kinds of things can reveal facets of you that you didn’t even know existed.
3. RIGHT all wrongs. Nothing wearies a person quite like the past that just doesn’t go away. Your self-esteem won’t grow unless you deal with the ugly things in your past—things that others did to you that you need to let go of, and things you did to others that you need to make right—no matter how long ago they occurred. If you still cringe when you think about it, it ain’t going away until you summon enough courage to do the right thing!
4. ENTER a new zone. This means taking your life to a different set of boundaries. It may mean giving up a favorite addiction that is limiting how far you can rise in life. Smoking, eating, drinking alcohol, abusing pain medications, diuretics, or laxatives—all of these become addictive behavior that even though you may not know it can limit you emotionally to a joyless world.
5.VIEW the world differently! In other words, take a different perspective on important things. Look around you at your friends. Are they mostly like you? If so, find a new one. It won’t be easy to do what I’m about to suggest—but you CAN do it. Make a friend who thinks completely differently than you. I am a political conservative on virtually any issue you could think of, but my best friend is a liberal Democrat! Hard to imagine, huh? We spend about two hours every day together, because we ride 50 miles each way to our workplace, and we have so much fun talking that the time literally flies. We DON’T talk about things that we’d never agree on, but we talk about everything else. There’s way more “else” than there is stuff we’d never agree on, and we are both far richer for knowing each other.
6.EAT AND EXERCISE the very best you can. Finally, we’re getting to basics. But, without everything else I’ve told you, there’s no chance you’ll do this either. By “the very best” I literally mean that. Value your body, and don’t fill it with junk. The flesh is dumb and it will use whatever you put in it, but it’s designed to run best on the best proteins, the best high fiber and vitamin rich carbohydrates, and small amounts of omega III oils. Put those in your tank, instead of Twinkies, and you’ll literally feel your flesh getting just a little smarter and lots stronger.
7. REGARD yourself highly! We’re not talking about conceit here. You need to know and affirm every day that you are a valuable, created being; that you can do far more than you think you can; that you are stronger and quicker and brighter than you think. This is not pop psychology—it’s the truth. Ask an Marine what he or she learned in basic training, and they’re certainly going to tell you that they learned they can do more than their mind told them they can do. To make this process work, you’ve got to continually push yourself.
Well, that’s it, just seven simple but not easy steps to a better life. You’ve probably noticed by now that first letter of the first word of those steps form the word F.O.R.E.V.E.R. And that’s what you need to be striving for—to be forever young, inside and out!