Health Mindset and Lifespan Revolution

Written by Howard Weller, August 2022

We live day by day, and often thinking from meal to meal. Our plans and diaries may stretch a few months ahead, but maybe not for over a year’s time. We plan for specific events, and to meet people in specific places. There isn’t a need to plan these kinds of events 2 years in the future.

Sometimes we have long term goals and aspirations, these could be a 3 year plan, or maybe a 5 year vision. Hopefully, these have smaller steps to help the journey go in the right direction.

But who is thinking 10 years in the future? And is anyone even thinking 10,000 years in the future? As it turns out there are people that explore these ideas and take actions today that impact the long term. There aren’t many of them though. We can explore that avenue another time!

Something we don’t often add into our schedule is contingency, or back-up plans. Ill-health may not normally be at the top of your worries, but this is often the most impactful. A set-back due to ill-health would be frustrating at the least, and life-threatening at the worst. These kinds of problems mean you can say goodbye to that calendar of activities.

Why not plan for good health? And if doing that, why not plan for amazing and life extending health? If this is all possible, you’ll want to look forward to the healthy years you have and do everything in your power to avoid ill-health (days or years!).

The key areas we need to focus on are; our mental wellbeing; daily habits such as exercise, diets that reduce inflammation and environmental impact on our bodies, sleep; and keep up to date about the healthcare solutions; and scientific breakthroughs that completely change our understanding about ageing.

In recent years, many ground-breaking studies demonstrate that current mainstream ideas about lifespan are out-of-date. Lifespan figures we grew up with, which have barely changed in decades are based purely on historical cases and don’t consider the developments in science and medicine, our own personal learning, and our daily lifestyle habits.

I would go as far as to say that our current mindset about ageing is preventing us from outliving the statistics. This is because we may have heard of such improvements available to us but haven’t updated our longer-term view. Without reassessing the long lifespan that we are hoping and likely to achieve, we are holding back our health, holding back our ambitions, holding back our enjoyment of time with family and friends.

Short termism, consumerism, and the notion that we future global issues won’t affect us are all signs that something isn’t quite right. Living life as though we only exist for a year is not right for us or our community. We can build better communities and lives by thinking about our effects beyond a year. When was the last time you did something that would help you in a few years’ time?

So, if you have you ever thought, “I don’t have enough time” to do things for the distant future, then you’ll be pleased to know there is something you can do. Lots of different small things you can do right now, today. I’ve helped summarise all of these in my book, Health Mindset and Lifespan.

You’re not alone in worrying about having enough time, as this is quite a common feeling. In fact, there’s even a name for it: time anxiety (Reference: Raypole, C. (2020, August 31). Time Anxiety. Healthline.). We can experience time anxiety on a number of different levels. It can manifest in a fear of being late to everyday appointments and activities, or it can contribute to a negative, defeatist attitude, or it can trigger existential dread. If we allow ourselves to focus on the bigger picture, the grand scheme of our life's opportunity, we can put those things that trigger our time anxiety into a new, hopefully more freeing, perspective.

Becoming less anxious in our day-to-day life is a giant step towards making that increased longevity a greater possibility. And bear in mind, this is a fact we have only truly realised in the last couple of decades. There are many other recent advancements in our understanding that can contribute to our health and increased lifespan.

In the book, Health Mindset and Lifespan, we discuss the key developments that you can take advantage of now, to extend your own lifespan.

Are you ready to adjust to the new age? You can have longer to achieve your goals, and so can make your goals more ambitious if you want.

The book, Health Mindset and Lifespan, is a summary of some of my findings, captured in a format that I hope is easy to understand and enjoy. The contents are a decade’s worth of interest and research into a sector that has dramatically changed to be unrecognisable from when I was a child. There are astounding advances in our understanding of the body and mind, which I believe is relevant to you regardless of whether you are young or “old”.

The ultimate goal of the book is to shift your mindset to the positive. If you can shift your mindset, you’ll be able to adopt a healthier lifestyle and be ready to spot future advances that reinforce your health learnings.

More recent scientific study tells us we can greatly improve the quality of our life at all ages, especially from our mid-life onwards. But our current mindset probably doesn’t factor this in. This historic mindset will hold back our health and lives from fulfilling our true potential.

It is my goal that, by the time you reach the end of reading the book, your mindset will have adapted to the very real idea that you have many more quality years of life ahead of you than you think. And that higher quality years will be realised not only in the long term but in the short term too. You will be released from restrictive and limiting beliefs about ageing, and this will hopefully open up opportunities you might have previously dismissed.

With an up-to-date mindset in relation to our lifespan, we can subtly (or dramatically) shift the way we feel day-to-day and take instant steps to make your life feel great.

According to Elissa Epel, a University of California professor who studies stress and ageing, it simply “comes down to daily behaviour and the choices we make. We have a growing set of studies of people from around the world showing that ageing is not just an aspect of genetics but of how we live.” All we have to do is make a decision to take steps to adopt a lifestyle that is more conducive to longevity (reference Kluger, J. (2015, February 12). How your Mindset Can Change How You Age. Time).

The longer you hold on to rigid beliefs that you are only going to live to your early eighties at the most, the more opportunities you could be missing. Missing opportunities to create a life you love now and will continue to love well into older age. Not only that, if you hold onto beliefs that could be – directly, or indirectly – causing you mental stress, you’re not helping your body to ready itself for a longer lifespan. Stress and worry will shorten your life over the long-term, but let’s not worry about that! Let’s find some enjoyable ways to live our life, and make the most of it.

If you take the short time to pick up my book, then you will know the key elements that will help you to prolong your life. You’ll have the tools to take advantage of. You will have a clearer understanding of how science has made it possible for us to better manage the effects of ageing. And it is my aim that you will feel confident of your health, with a positive mindset that has been reprogrammed to support you be healthy.

Our mindset has incredible power over the way we live, the way we behave, how we find happiness, and how we heal and flourish. Even if we want to behave a certain way or think a certain way, a negative mindset can override these intentions.

Having a particular, more positive, mindset, can lead to success. Health Success is willingness to learn about lifespan and the world that supports this. A positive mindset also directly helps so that you may be able to have a longer and healthier life (reference: Dweck, C. (2017b). Mindset - Updated Edition: Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential).

Having a ‘growth’ or a ‘learning’ mindset throughout your life can prove to be the difference between succeeding in life and achieving the goals you set for yourself, or not. According to an article by Carol Dweck for the Harvard Business Review, “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and they put more energy into learning.” (reference: Dweck, C. (2016, January 13). What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means. Harvard Business Review)

When it comes to mindset, I have highlighted the supporting foundations in my book, Lifespan Foundations. This is a short eBook that provides a really useful summary or tips and lifespan information. It is a available for sale through this website.

In my longer book, Health Mindset and Lifespan, we cover longevity and lifespan tips in plenty of detail. But for now, here are some foundation practices that will help support your health, mindset and lifespan.

Start the day with a positive affirmation

If you’ve never done this before, it might feel a little uncomfortable to repeat certain words to yourself at any opportune moment. So, choose something simple to begin with, such as ‘I always look for the good in each day’. Repeat this affirmation to yourself whenever you remember to. Perhaps include this in your meditation practice if you do that regularly. You could always write it down on post-it notes and stick them around the house, the car or your desk, to remind yourself. It may take some practice but try to feel and believe those words as you repeat them. Over time, you’ll start to notice that you are naturally seeking out the good in each day. Then you can move on to create other, clearer or more personal, affirmations.

Practice gratitude

Willie Nelson famously said, “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” There’s a reason why many successful people cite gratitude as a key factor in their success. It is much easier to strive for something you want when you appreciate what you already have. Practising gratitude takes hardly any time at all. If you can remind yourself throughout the day to recognise something you are grateful for – someone giving up their spot in a queue for you, someone holding a door open for you, a nice compliment, a quick commute to work – then acknowledging that gratitude takes hardly any effort. But many find it easier to journal at the start or the end of each day, listing the things that have brought them happiness, even if fleeting. Try different ways of practising gratitude to see what works best for you.

Try to move your body every day

Just stretching each morning can make you feel better, by allowing oxygen to flow through your blood and tissues. Over time, you will also feel more flexible and less stiff and ‘old’. If you can get outdoors every day, for a walk or run, or to play a sport, you will feel instantly fresher. The benefits of taking time to be outside in the fresh air, or in nature, are well-documented. The important thing to take away here is, you should try to make it a habit of it if you can. A little exercise or fresh air every day can have a substantial effect over the long term.

Exercise not only benefits the body, but it can also benefit the mind. According to Harvard Medical School, “The mental benefits of aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis. Exercise reduces levels of the body's stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators.”

Also, breathing through your nose is really important as it will increase the flow of oxygen throughout the body. Taking large gasping breaths through your mouth actually has the opposite effect. So always try to keep that mouth shut and breathe easily through your nose, even if that means slowing down or exercising less vigorously.

Nourish yourself

Feed your body nutritious food and plenty of water. You need certain things to survive, even before you can thrive. All too often, we can jump to a quick-fix, fad diet that promises us greater energy or a more streamlined physique, but then neglect to give ourselves light, air and water. Our bodies can’t function optimally, or fuel that all-important mindset unless those basic requirements are met.

Be mindful of self-talk and negative thoughts

Make a point each day of being conscious of your thoughts. Notice when you say something mean to yourself, or about another person or situation. Consciously reframe that thought in your mind and notice any changes in your body as you release that negativity. Becoming mindful of self-talk is one of the hardest things to do if you are not used to doing it. So, give yourself time to make a habit of noticing when you are leaning towards a negative thought, and be forgiving of yourself when you spot one that needs to be reframed. Old habits do die hard, and well-established neural pathways can take time to cover over while new paths are reinforced. Go easy on yourself as you adopt this practice.

If you can begin to cultivate a more positive mindset, you are already streets ahead in terms of readiness to process some of the findings I’m about to put in front of you. That’s all you really need to start adapting your mindset to the idea you can be healthier and have longer to live than you might think.