Aging

Ever since I heard about the U-Curve of Happiness, I was intrigued by it. Yes, my low point in life matched the nadir of their social science research: mid-to-later 40’s. And, yes, my fifties have been my favorite decade. But is this graph below truly accurate? Are we happiest in life at age 98?

Many of our Sabbatical Sessions guests ask for time alone with me and my co-founders, Jeff and Christine. I often recommend a walk and talk, and, I guess, I’ve earned a bit of a reputation for being a "zippy Chippy."

I am sitting on the front steps of my 96-year-old mother’s home. It’s my first visit in 18 months and long overdue, as is the haircut which was item No.1 on her to-do list.

Okay, let’s be clear—ageism is real and serious. And there are relatively-toothless age discrimination laws in the United States. So, it may feel in bad taste to share this New Yorker magazine humorous questionnaire, but, hey, sometimes levity is a welcome way to highlight a problem.

Wisdom Well doesn't offer a lot of blog posts on our bodies and physical wellness. I feel that we're barraged enough with anti-aging messages, many of which can be exclamatory—take this or take that if you don't want to be a goner! I'm tired of those hyperbolic messages.

Following up from yesterday, today's title offers a simple, provocative question that challenges the typical societal narrative that says: You can't grow and age at the same time.

Curing aging is a popular narrative amongst the tech and finance intelligentsia, even though we haven’t cured the common cold yet, or cancer, or Alzheimer’s. Of course, it doesn’t matter. The 1-percenters want more years added onto their lives, and so the “live forever” research gets more and more funding.

"Imagine if you are older, like in your 60s. Could you climb a tree? Should you climb a tree?" Those were the first questions proposed to us students in my Sports Psychology class in college.

Age is a cruel master. That seems to be society’s narrative. We often retort, "Age is just a number," as if we’re oblivious to the relationship between age and health. But there are three numbers that do matter. For simplicity, these three numbers exclusively use only two digits: a 4 and a 7.

Peter Thiel, Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison, Aubrey de Grey, and Peter Diamandis. They’re all obsessed with length. Oh, how men love comparing metrics. And it started early in life, most likely in the group shower after gym class.