7 Habits that Make Me Feel “Old”

Do you ever have those days when you feel “OLD”?

While old is not a feeling, you know what I mean. It feels like you’ve fallen and can’t get up, just like the commercial.

Personally, for most of my life, I have always felt younger than I am.

At 15 I felt 11, at 25 I felt 19, at 38 I felt 29 and so on and so forth.

At 48 currently, I haven’t a clue what it’s actually supposed to feel like, but on a recent streak of feeling more like 78, I started paying closer attention to the things I was doing that could be contributing to this feeling. What was I doing (or not doing) that was making me feel this way?

Here’s what I discovered makes me feel “old”:

Eating too many carbs

Doing so makes me feel like a slug as if I’m moving through life in slow motion. I’ve stopped eating carbs during the week and it works wonder on my energy levels, not to mention my waistline.

Eating too much sugar

This one is hard to break because I love sweets! I noticed that when I eat too much sugar it makes my skin look tired. While I can’t completely not eat sugar (that would be torture), I’ve found that lemon works wonders because it makes you crave sugar less. Also, reach for a banana when you have a craving.

Being too inactive

I have always been very active, all through my childhood as a gymnast up to now where I exercise anywhere from 3-4 times a week. Recently, I came down with a bad flu and was out of commission for a few weeks. Those weeks without any physical activity took a toll on me. Being still is like a poison to my body but moving makes me feel happy and rejuvenated.

Slouching

This is a hard one because slouching is more comfortable than sitting straight; however, good posture when sitting and walking is paramount to how you feel and see yourself. Lose that slouch.

Being in a bad mood

Your mood not only messes with your mental well-being but with your body as well. Personally, my mood shows up in my face and there’s no denying it. Plus, frequent frowning and furrowing of the brows causes more wrinkles, sigh.

Wearing clothes that don’t fit right or feel right anymore

There’s this blouse I simply love and have worn for many years but it no longer fits me like it used to. I think it shrunk. Forget thinking it’ll fit again one day, just let it go and move on. There are so many other blouses out there calling your name that will make you feel confident and radiant.

Multitasking

I used to be the queen of multitasking until I realized it was messing with my brain and stressing me out big time. When you multitask it’s harder to organize your thoughts and filter out irrelevant information. I was never “in” the moment and that has a way of stealing time from you.

In conclusion, it turns out that lifestyle choices and daily habits play a big role in the aging process and how I feel. When I eliminate or limit these habits, I find myself going back to feeling younger than I really am and that’s something I want to strive for every day.

I encourage you to keep these in mind because we still have many sunsets to view, trails to hike, smiles to share, and adventures to be had.

Carry on.