The past several weeks, several “slowing down” situations have arisen in my life. It’s the type of observation I seem to have more these days – stepping back and seeing things in a different light.
Slowing down affects multiple things, from how quickly you get going in the morning, to your processing of information, to how fast you can run, to how you pass judgment on issues in the news. It’s mental, physical and psychological.
Just this past weekend, I spent time with one of my best friends as he celebrated his 70th birthday. During the time we spent together, he mentioned the feeling of slowing down as he got up and moving to start the day. I commented something to the effect of, “You’re just now starting to notice that?”
Being two years younger than him, and more active in general, maybe my slowing down started earlier in life and is more noticeable to me. When you stay engaged in athletics, continuing to participate (in whatever the sports endeavor is), when you can’t do what you used to be able to do, you slow down. You also notice these changes. And, as you age, those slowdowns happen more often in different ways. It’s almost a safety mechanism in your body if you think about it, because you must acknowledge muscle/speed/strength changes and not react instantaneously the way you might have done in your 20’s, 30’s and even 40’s.
If you do immediately react, try to spring, dive for a ball, cut side-to-side, chop firewood continuously for an hour, try to steal a base and slide into second in baseball, you find a torn or pulled muscle, a joint out of socket or even a broken bone.
The slowdown is more than just about athletics and staying in shape though. It’s noticeable preparing to go somewhere and getting out the door.
This one I don’t really understand, but for some unfathomable reason, it seems to take me an extra five minutes to leave our house than I projected several years ago.
For example, waking up, doing some quick stretches, feeding the dogs (now just one dog as Thor passed two weeks ago) and getting dressed takes five more minutes. I drive to our fitness center and am regularly now later than I was just a few years ago. Why is that? Am I moving that much slower? Do I forget something every morning (no)? Is there a back and forth with trivial details where I try to remember something and those seconds add up to become minutes? Who the heck knows?
Perhaps it is some form of aging coping mechanism, some animalistic survival instinct that kicks in over time. What is clear though is that your body/mind wants tells you to take it easier. Go slow and be safer. Warm up before taking off on your day or workout.
It makes sense. There are greater dangers of moving/acting faster, regardless of your age. Reasoning through an issue or taking your time to prepare yourself for physical activity or mental engagement makes sense at any stage of your life.
Maybe we just more fully learn this lesson when you reach last third of your life. Let me step back and slowly work through this.
Slowing down affects multiple things, from how quickly you get going in the morning, to your processing of information, to how fast you can run, to how you pass judgment on issues in the news. It’s mental, physical and psychological.
Just this past weekend, I spent time with one of my best friends as he celebrated his 70th birthday. During the time we spent together, he mentioned the feeling of slowing down as he got up and moving to start the day. I commented something to the effect of, “You’re just now starting to notice that?”
Being two years younger than him, and more active in general, maybe my slowing down started earlier in life and is more noticeable to me. When you stay engaged in athletics, continuing to participate (in whatever the sports endeavor is), when you can’t do what you used to be able to do, you slow down. You also notice these changes. And, as you age, those slowdowns happen more often in different ways. It’s almost a safety mechanism in your body if you think about it, because you must acknowledge muscle/speed/strength changes and not react instantaneously the way you might have done in your 20’s, 30’s and even 40’s.
If you do immediately react, try to spring, dive for a ball, cut side-to-side, chop firewood continuously for an hour, try to steal a base and slide into second in baseball, you find a torn or pulled muscle, a joint out of socket or even a broken bone.
The slowdown is more than just about athletics and staying in shape though. It’s noticeable preparing to go somewhere and getting out the door.
This one I don’t really understand, but for some unfathomable reason, it seems to take me an extra five minutes to leave our house than I projected several years ago.
For example, waking up, doing some quick stretches, feeding the dogs (now just one dog as Thor passed two weeks ago) and getting dressed takes five more minutes. I drive to our fitness center and am regularly now later than I was just a few years ago. Why is that? Am I moving that much slower? Do I forget something every morning (no)? Is there a back and forth with trivial details where I try to remember something and those seconds add up to become minutes? Who the heck knows?
Perhaps it is some form of aging coping mechanism, some animalistic survival instinct that kicks in over time. What is clear though is that your body/mind wants tells you to take it easier. Go slow and be safer. Warm up before taking off on your day or workout.
It makes sense. There are greater dangers of moving/acting faster, regardless of your age. Reasoning through an issue or taking your time to prepare yourself for physical activity or mental engagement makes sense at any stage of your life.
Maybe we just more fully learn this lesson when you reach last third of your life. Let me step back and slowly work through this.