EVEN BETTER AFTER 50

Achieving lifelong wellness: the state of living fully. Adding life to

your years, not years to your life.
Vitality means to live life with energy. It requires attention to
physical healthcare.
Mature adults who actively pursue vitality have a high regard for
themselves, value their physical health, believe that what they
are doing is worthwhile, possess personal confidence, expect
success and see failures as learning exper, enjoy people, take
optimal care of their bodies, engage in stress reduction
techniques, maintain interest and development of their talents,
and continuous adjust their attitudes and behaviors
LIVE IN THE NOW
Inject the present moment with its full measure of life and love
Vitality helps us focus on what enhances us rather than what
tears us down
Dependent upon ones internal world
Wellness is the backdrop of vitality: requires engaging in disease
prevention, health maintenance and health promotion.
We are children of God when we discover our vitality we discover
God within us.
Basic health practices:
No tobacco, alcohol in mod. Proper nutrition, respond positively
to stress, enough sleep and relaxation, maintaining ideal weight,
enough exercise.
Vitality blockers:
Unresolved emotional, psychological or spiritual stress, inability to
give and receive love, lack of humor, dont sweat the small stuff,

failing to recognize that we have choices, misuse and abuse of

the physical body, mired in losses, refusal to accept and adjust to
change-denial
Vitality enhancers:
Self empowerment, taking responsibility for self, gleaning wisdom
in every exp. Being mindful of the present, give and receive love.
Leisure Activities:
Social interaction
Spectator appreciation
Creative expression
Intellectual stimulation
Physical exercise
Solitary relaxation
Leisure is a fundamental human need. WE have more leisure time
and becomes more important
It must fulfill two criteria: it must be physically or mentally
rejuvenating or stimulating, and diversionary from ones normal
work. It gives us pause from the central cause of our life.
Leisure is spiritual in the sense that it reminds us that our sole
purpose in life is not simply to do but to be.
We are spiritual beings having a human physical exp,
Through leisure we turn inward and rediscover our childlike
qualities of awe wonder and delight
Developing a leisure attitude, gives us pause to be grateful and
exp peace.
Prayer gives us pause to remember our most accurate sense of
our true self and is therefore leisure.

FUN
Holy fun is keeping a good sense of humor with God. To internally
shake our heads in amusement at the absurdness of the human
conditon
TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE
The degree to which you engage in responsible health
care actions
For self health care actions to be responsible they must be:
RELIABLE VALID INFORMED APPROPRIATE
Assertiveness: own your own health care needs, communicate the
to those who need to know and work them into reality
Make health a top priority choosing everything that effects health
with care
Living mindfully and centered
Develop a new attitude toward discomfort toward invigorating
functionality
STYLES OF RETIREMENT LIVING
1. Mature: treat themselves as responsible adults making
modifications in lifestyle and choosing wisely
2. Rocking Chair: paying attention to health only when they
have to
3. Armored: uptight about health, overdoing consultation with
health care professionals and over dieting, etc.
4. Self Haters: either over inflate (hypochondriac) health issues
or feel so badly that they neglect their health
5. Angry: shun prof. help do not see it as partership
DISORDERS OF SELF HEALTH CARE MOTIVATION
1. Belief in myth that quality of health care is measured by
quantity

2. Belief in myth that we must always turn to professionals;

abdicate responsibility
3. Framing our health on yesterdays exp. Failing to see the
need to integrate changes
4. Over inflating the role of either my own self care/professional
care no balance
5. Sense of inadequacy about our own ability to self care
6. Need for information
Taking responsibility means new personal initiatives:
1. Renewed commitment to the issue of health
2. Conscious intention to improve life vitality
3. Developing options for improved health
4. Incorporate the steps necessary for sustained health
ACTION MODEL FOR HEALTH CARE
Situations that can be influenced require Mastery or action
Situations that cannot be influenced require Creative
Acceptance
SELF CARE POSITIVE MOTIVATION:
How drive are you to get to where you want to go?
How likely is that you will achieve success?
What are the rewards?
NEGATIVE MOTIVATION IS THE TENDENCY TO AVOID
FAILURE
Internal motivation is when you are driven by your own
intrinsic motive power. External motivation is when you
are trying to win approval.
You are externally motivated when you goal for wellness is
to look good. You are internally motivated when your goal
for wellness is to feel good.
DEVELOPING A SELF HEALTH CARE PLAN
Determine your three most potentially damaging medical
risk factors.
Gather as much information as you can

Integrate these organized health care risk preventions into

lifestyle
Find the motivation to perform them regularly and
consistently
CONTINUOUS HEALTH IMPROVEMENT
No matter what you are facing there is always room
for improvement
The mind body connection is key here. Personality
hardiness includes:
1. Being able to view life issues as challenges instead of
threats
2. Overcoming helplessness/victimization by developing
an attitude that ones actions can influence events
3. Making a commitment to change rather than giving up
4. Actively sharing yourself with others
5. Positive thinking translates into a healthier immune
system
6. Support group participation
7. Having a confidant
8. Counseling
9. Faith
10.
Prayer
11.
Relaxation techniques
12.
Restructuring thinkin
13.
Training the mind to replace pain with positive
thought
14.
exercise