Make Aging Great Again – MAGA in 5 Easy Steps
By Jane A Malkoff MSN RN NP
The MAGA acronym needs an overhaul! I am introducing a new meaning for MAGA. Allow me to introduce to you, all my “partners in aging”, the new MAGA – Make Aging Great Again! Yay!! Woohoo!
- For at least two hours per day tune in to your reality. Turn off the television, especially the news; ignore all electronics, especially phones, laptops, desktops and gaming devices; and avoid negative conversations. Fitbits permitted but not obsessively. Plan to do nothing during this precious time except to listen and engage whole heartedly with whatever is going on in you and around you. Time is your most valuable resource.
- Repeat the following mantra as often as you need to but not less than 20 times per day as you go about your life, “Aging is Not a Disease”. Repeating this will not slow aging or the effects of aging but a good mantra like this will serve you well, like a sacred message or a helpful counselor. It will build a stronger foundation for an inner perspective to help you through whatever you face.
- Stare down all fears about aging until that fear cannot look you in the eye any longer. The fear of aging and dying is common. It creeps up at times when there is a medical issue, a forgetful period (“Where did I park my car?!”), an ache or a pain surely signifying the beginning of the end, a vulnerable feeling of having not become enough, done enough, loved enough, a recognition the time left on earth is most certainly less than the amount of time already spent on earth, and the loss of loved ones which attempts to separate the aging person from the “fully alive” world as if to make the person believe they no longer fit. Stare it down and then find a way to share the fears and anxieties with anyone and everyone possible. Make fear reveal itself for the thief it is. Commune around these feelings as fast as possible. Toast it, laugh at it, and get back to life.
- Visit with the young and healthy and the old and frail. Join in with the vibrant younger, energetic people and stay involved in modern issues. Give equal time for communing/visiting with aging people who are frail, ill, cognitively impaired, incontinent, agitated, institutionalized. Be sure to provide these older frail people the touch, the words or the silent presence in just the same way you would want if you were in the same condition and in hope of an understanding visitor.
- Finally, incorporate the known tips for successful aging. These tips are; develop a heathy attitude which means deciding to take responsibility for your own successful aging experience, enjoy life, control your future through planning, consult reliable medical professionals for advice, keep your soul healthy through community, watch your diet including not overdoing alcohol and focusing on quality protein and vegetables, exercise routinely and flex your mind by learning new things.