The Aging Man: the hard fought mental battle to begin.
photo credit: Salt Light City Photography
I suppose how The Aging Man started is probably a remarkably similar story to how you found this site and why you are now reading this post. A slow burn for a couple years; building self-doubts, bubbling anxieties, quests for answers, and generally unsettled.
I didn’t like my dad bod, I didn’t feel great about myself, my back hurt more often, I noticed my blood pressure was a little higher than it should be bordering on needing medication. There were no hobbies, very few friends at all, and my clothes were ok, but blah. A loser I was not though, I mean I have a great family, a great daughter, and a successful career.
Sound at all familiar?
Step One to Begin the Aging Man Journey
Overall, though, I was like, “well now what?” I’m getting older, how can I do this better. I know I should AND CAN age better, more confidently, while enjoying the ride. Four years ago, I determined to learn a new skill and turned that into a cool hobby. Four years later I’m still enthusiastically invested in that hobby (more in a future post!). But it wasn’t until this year that I became intensely intentional and significantly more adamant about creating a permanent new trajectory for me, the aging man.
Starting this new trajectory was difficult, so many things I could improve. Some seemed exceptionally daunting, some seemed a little easier. I knew some things, other topics I spent a lot of time, I mean A LOT of time researching things like, what should you eat when you get older, how can you dress well, is anxiety normal as you age…. Where to start? How to start? Is there a right or wrong way?
Step One was JUST PICK SOMETHING to start on.
The dad bod- that’s what I picked to start on. I figured I at least know about exercising and a bit about eating better because, well, I’m a physical therapist. As we all know, we can know a ton about the how’s and why’s but that is not the same as doing it. You must decide to do it and then do it.
Step Two of the Aging Man’s Journey
It boiled down me not being invested in my motivation. What is the motivation to change my dad bod? Was it to look better, to “be healthy,” to live longer, to lower my blood pressure, what was it? All that sound great, but what will keep me motivated to exercise day in and day out, week after week? WHY am I going to be motivated to change my dad bod?
“First, think about why you’re setting the goal and what you want to change….. Identifying the importance of the goal can focus attention and strengthen the motivation to accomplish it.” Psychology Today
I knew that losing weight would cover several issues, pain, blood pressure, health concerns, attitude, and some of my anxiety that had to do with potential health issues. I realized all those benefits would help me be as healthy as I possibly can for my future grandchildren. My WHY became my absolute belief that changing my dad bod with exercise and eating better would lead to a better future.
Step Two was DETERMINING MY WHY.
It’s been 3 months since my newfound journey began and it’s going very well. The hard fought mental battle to begin to intentionally and adamantly age well, with confidence, and some coolness began with two steps:
1: Just pick something
2: Determine your WHY
A Better Future for the Aging Man
The journey of the aging man, for our purposes, begins at 45 years old. I’m on a mission to save average guys like you and me time, money, and potentially your life on our journey to age well, to live our best life, and to be confident in who we are regardless of health status, financial status, and relationship status. I’ll share with you what I’ve already discovered so far, I’ll share what I discover along my journey, and I will share what other experts say. From the perspective of a regular guy, just like you, I will make sure to give you great information on fitness, health, lifestyle, eating well, hobbies, and much more. Let’s do this as a crew.
Join THE AGING MAN CREW by using the sign up button below to be a part of this amazing journey we have ahead of us as aging men!!
Visit the About Page to read a little more background.