Rock-Stars-of-Aging-by-Marc-Middleton

Rock Stars of Aging
15
STATE OF MIND
1: Centenarians Have a Great Attitude
“Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working
twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount
importance that we know how to harness and control this great force.”
-- Irving Berlin, composer (May 11,1888 - September 22, 1989)
Forget the stereotype of the crotchety old man or lady. The first
common trait shared by every centenarian we’ve ever spoken with is
immediately apparent. They’re easygoing and they’re happy.
Centenarians have positive, sunny dispositions. They know how to
chill.
Not all have always been that way. Occasionally, a daughter or
granddaughter will say, “You should have seen her 30 years ago.
She was anything but mellow!” But mellow is what nearly every
centenarian eventually becomes.
Doctors have proven that stress leads to disease and a good attitude
leads to a healthy life. Happy people have higher levels of endorphins
and stronger immune systems.
Stress=sick. Happy=healthy.
But here’s the real mind-blower. The way we live our lives can
actually affect us at a genetic level. Dr. Michael Bauerschmidt is an
expert on the human genome and says, “How you approach life, your
attitude towards life, can manifest as how your genes express
themselves.” In other words, you may have a family history of cardiac
disease, cancer, diabetes or Alzheimer’s and how you live your life
will determine if, when and how those diseases develop. Almost all
researchers now agree that a healthy lifestyle and the right attitude
can overcome bad genes.
Psychology trumps physiology almost every time. The people that
have lived the longest have (or have developed) the best attitudes.
Rock Stars of Aging
15