“You are only as old as you feel?”

How many times have you heard the well-worn cliche, “You are only as old as you feel?”
What does it actually mean? To me it means that one battles age issues by battling inactivity.

Good health is more important than anything else in our lives. There is not one formula for living a healthy lifestyle. But there is one word that is the counterpart to it — inactivity.

Too many people just “don’t have time” for exercise. They “don’t have time” to eat right. And many of these people find that “old age” catches up to them at a young age.

I have run every day for more than 30 years. This includes the eight-year period in my life when I was in essence working two jobs. It meant being up at 5:30 a.m. weekdays to run. During that period I trained for two marathons … and finished both of them in the two best times I have posted in five completed marathons.

It took a healthy dose of discipline. It also took healthy eating. And it took not making excuses even when the outdoor conditions were far from optimal for running. Just did it! And I continue to do it, although living in Arizona I do not have weather issues as an excuse for skipping a day of running.

There are many different lifestyles just as there are many reasons to be inactive. Healthy living is not only a lifestyle but a mindset.

Once you embrace the mindset, the excuses disappear. After all, you are only as old as you feel.