Vitality

Vitality is ageless…if you its source.

I’m certain that you’ve known people you’d consider elderly who don’t appear to be as old as their chronology. You’ve also known people who seem much older than their years.

Many of us might attribute the difference to the person’s “state of mind.” While there may be some truth to that, it isn’t helpful to those who don’t naturally possess the state of mind that results in vitality. Those who don’t naturally possess that state of mind find it nearly impossible to develop it.

Fortunately there is another explanation, one that is more actionable: helping others.

Who among us, upon having helped someone, doesn’t feel greater energy and an additional spring in our step? Who doesn’t feel valued and valuable as a result? Who doesn’t want to experience that joy and excitement again and again?

The key to vitality, the reason it’s ageless, is that there are so many ways in which we can help others. Each of us possesses a great deal of wisdom by virtue of the experiences we’ve had. The key is to position yourself to use that wisdom to help others in the pursuit of their dreams.

Physical limitations

I’m sure that some of you may be thinking that you don’t have the physical wherewithal to help others in a way that you’d like. Whenever I hear this argument, my mind goes immediately to Stephen Hawking whose physical limitations were so severe that he literally needed help in doing everything including speaking. 

Yet, as a theoretical physicist, he was a significant contributor to our understanding of the universe. Indeed, he hosted shows on PBS that helped make scientific methodologies  understandable for we laymen.

The only limitations any of us face is our willingness to put forth the effort. Interestingly, once we put forth the initial effort, the psychic rewards are so great that we want to experience the joy, excitement and vitality again and again.

For you

If you’re feeling your age, or more than your age, you can once again feel ageless by simply finding ways to help others. These need not be Herculean efforts. Simply giving others a reason to smile is all that it takes. As a very wise cruise director once said “Sometime you get to enjoy the sunshine; sometimes you have to be the sunshine.” Be the sunshine every day of your life and you’ll never have another bad day.

For our kids

Live this message. As the kids in your life see you smiling consistently and bringing joy into the lives of others, they’ll want to do the same. As they get older and see the vitality you possess is far greater than that of your contemporaries, they’ll make the connection between enriching the lives of others and the vitality you possess. Armed with this understanding, they too will enjoy long, happy lives.

Let others know that you love them by sharing this blog post. They’ll appreciate that you care.

Readers would love to see your thoughts and experiences in a comment below.

If you’d like to enjoy great confidence, check out our Confidence Self-Study programs (opens in a new link). 

If you’d like to enrich the lives of others by teaching them to be more confident, check out our Teaching Confidence Instructor Certification program (opens in a new link).