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THE RIGHT ATTITUDE – A FUNDAMENTAL PILLAR OF AGEING

© Bronwen Schoombie

As a practicing psychologist, I am all too aware of the fact that, merely by making an appointment on his/her own, my client has taken the most vital step on the road to managing what may feel like an insurmountable problem. And in the same way, I believe that you, the reader of my suite101 page - specifically aimed at the older generation - are most probably already a specific type of person - one who is really interested in achieving maximum health and fitness in this so-called "over-the-hill" year.

And yet - the toughest psychological hurdle to overcome is that of facing one's mortality - discovering that despite all one's own efforts at remaining healthy, there are other forces at work. Did I say all one's own efforts? Well, I meant all but the one that tends to be forgotten - and that one is possibly the greatest power of all (and not as easy to control)... one's mind.

When my father was in his early fifties he returned from organizing the communications for the Roof of Africa 4 X 4 rally in Lesotho, and, to my mother's surprise, spent the entire afternoon lying down. The next day he called his heart specialist to ask if he couldn't shift his Wednesday appointment to that Monday. After examining him, the cardiologist wouldn't even allow him off the trolley. He was scheduled for an emergency heart by-pass operation.

My father knows hospitals. He nearly died of rheumatic fever at 19 when he spent three months out of action. Now, within minutes he was charming hospital staff and doing all he could to ensure a comfortable stay. In those days (over ten years ago) he was ready to go home within four days (unheard of then) and nurses were forever asking him to chat to other patients who had come face to face with their mortality and were depressed. My father had looked beyond that. He believed he had been given a second chance (which indeed he had) and ten years later, he cycled the Argus cycle Tour. This is a 105km cycle in Cape Town and he did it in just over 5 hours. The next year he slashed his time by twenty minutes.

So, what does one need to do in order to cope with the inevitable process of aging in a way that ensures your life remains fulfilling and worth living?

1 Stop focussing on what you cannot do and look past the barriers. No, you cannot choose to be 100% healthy if you are not...but you CAN choose whether or not to be miserable. You can decide that your heart attack, lost arm, diabetes (etc) is the beginning of the end or you can find NEW activities that you are able to do. These will help you to focus on something outside of yourself. Nkele Mosiane's leg was amputated when she was five years old. Around a quarter of a century later - after becoming involved with the Achilles Track Club (a world wide organization designed to encourage people with disabilities to take up running) - she ran the New York Marathon for the second time, cutting her first time to 12hrs 12 mins to 9hrs 59 mins.

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