4 Ways to Live Longer and Happier

Almost everyone wants to live longer and we spend a lot of money trying to find the secrets to living a longer life. We buy potions, pills, creams, and exercise equipment - all in an effort to maintain or regain/retain our youth. We spend a great deal of our hard-earned money to look younger. Some of it works, but most of it does not.

Don't Stop

Although longevity runs in my family, I know the reason most of them lived well into their 90s is that they don't stop. As my brother put it, "I'll have time to rest when I die." I  work harder than I did 40 years ago.  I love to be busy which helps me to think younger, act younger, and look younger. And an active brain is much better than the opposite. 

What you feed will grow

AND.....

What you starve will die

Do These Top 10 Worst Pet Peeves Make You Angry?

 Pet Peeves.  We all have them. They make us go GRRRRRR.

The Difference Between... 

What is the difference between things we hate and pet peeves?  An example: I hate to see people smoking in a car with a dog inside. I want to run over and smash their windows.  It is now against the law to smoke with children in the car but not animals. Don't they have rights too?

A peeve leans more toward an annoyance experienced by many people.

We all have things in our lives that drive us nuts but we don't always want to admit it -- it sounds like we are whining.  

It is difficult to put them in order of most annoying to least as pet peeves are usually equally annoying!  

  

Do Manufacturers Actually Believe We Are This Stupid?

 HILARIOUS -- Have you seen these?

Are you a label reader?  If you are, then I am sure you have come across some labels that give your head a shake.  There are labeling laws that are in place to protect the consumer. However, when you read some of these actual labels, it makes you wonder if the industry thinks the human race is stupid, or worse.   On the bottom of McCain's Tiramisu dessert:  "Do NOT turn upside down."  UHhh, a bit late! On Planter's peanuts:  "WARNING:  may contain nuts" I was hoping for nutless peanuts!

Do People Say Nice Things and Really Mean Them?

How do you feel about people who lie to you?  I don't mean the big lies -- just those tiny ones that don't really seem to matter.  Or do they?  Saying things we really do not mean is often more of a habit than an intention to hurt someone.

"I'll be in touch."  If I tell someone I am going to stay in contact with them, I make a note of it right then and there.  Sometimes it means sending them a quick email to see when we can get together or to see what's new in their lives.  Making a friendly gesture is only the first step. Keeping in touch is quite another. 

I have heard those words so often and then wonder why they never call. Did they forget? Do they not care?  It reminds me of the phrase from the second (or first) date "I'll call you."  You know they don't have the slightest intention of calling so WHY waste breath by saying they will? Is it to appease the listener at the moment? It is just as easy to say "Goodbye" as it is to say you will be in touch.

How Do You Remember Things You Need To Do?

How often do you wonder if you locked the front door?  Or turned down the heat?  Or closed the garage door?

If I got a nickel for every time I went back to check if I had done something, I would be a rich woman. I am not sure if it is an "aging" symptom because I believe I have always done this. And my daughter does the same thing.  

Did I unplug the curling iron?  Did I remember my keys?  Did I turn off the coffee pot?

Do You Wish Your Life Had A Restart Button?

 

If given the opportunity would you accept a RESTART button for your life? Would you like to travel back in time and change things? What might your life look like after you did that?  

This is how I would answer that soul-searching question:

1)  I  would not have married the man my parents and family warned me against.  If I had not married him then my life would have been a lot easier after the divorce.  I would not have been gang-raped and left for dead (by his 'friends').  I would not have had my home completely destroyed by a gang of vandals (his friends).  I would not have had an emotional and physical breakdown.  

HOWEVER.....I learned a lot from those experiences and they helped make me the strong woman I am today.

20 Things You Promised You Would Never Do

Be honest.  Have you ever said, "I'll never be like that when I get old?"  All of us have fallen short in some form or another by doing the things we swore we would never do.

Most of us made some hard and fast rules when we became parents.

"I will never yell at my children."  Come on, tell us, have you ever yelled at your kids.

What Do You Think About More? Your Present or Your Past?

It is quite normal to wonder what would have been different if you had made a different decision. Would it have changed the direction your life took?  Hindsight and reflection are the best teachers. In light of the trauma, anxiety, and stress in many of our lives, it is common to think about the What Ifs and If Onlys. 

If you could go back 20 years for one hour and change the rest of your life, what would you change and why?

My life has been a tumultuous one - on every level, in every arena.  Often the storms would come one after the other but many times they would be happening at the same time.  Every year had turbulence and it would be impossible to attempt changing anything - it's done. Complicated.  Exhausting.  

In the light of a cancer diagnosis, loss of a child, being gang-raped and left for dead, total financial ruin, husband falsely imprisoned and more...it is easy to wish things had been different. HOWEVER, who we are today is a result of what happened yesterday. If we dwell on those setbacks and calamities, we can get stuck in self-pity. But, if we look at each situation as a stepping stone to something better and be thankful for what we learned through the crisis, we will not only survive but will thrive.