cur-mud-geon:
anyone who hates hypocrisy and pretense and has the temerity to say so; anyone with the habit of pointing out unpleasant facts in an engaging and humorous manner
I gave up on the classic resolution many people make at the start of each New Year. Why? Because, I didn’t keep the vast majority of the resolutions I made and only felt guiltier after breaking each resolution than I did before making it.
Instead, I adopted the “all things in moderation” approach to living. I try to live life one day at a time. I don’t always succeed, but at least I don’t beat myself up over it as I once did.
There is a reasonably new Website that I find of great value. It is called Real Age and is found at www.realage.com on the Internet. I am told it was a feature of one of Oprah’s shows. I was introduced to it by a speaker to whom I listened at a recent convention.
There is a little work involved. If you choose, you can answer a series of questions. As you answer those questions, you’ll see a “real age” indicator beginning to appear periodically. When you’ve completed the full questionnaire you will be given this site’s estimation as to your “real age” versus your chronological age. Some people will be older in “real age” while others will be younger in “real age”.
As you make some lifestyle modifications, if you choose, you can go back and change some of your answers. As you enter these changes, your “real age” either increases or decreases. I find this is the sort of scorecard that makes me aware of self. I’m not the best role model in terms of my habits, but I am shown as about 10 years younger in “real age” versus my chronological age. Whether or not that is factual makes little difference since I feel younger and, therefore, I act younger. I don’t complain so often about aches and pains. I find myself actually thinking about some of the things I do to and for myself each day. I exercise on a regular basis. I did little of this before.
Beyond the age reference, the site generates e-mails to each participant based upon the needs they’ve identified during completion of the questionnaire. I identified three particular areas and now receive e-mails concerning one or more at least weekly. It helps me to keep these things in my consciousness.
Maybe you, too, can eliminate the guilt of broken resolutions by visiting Real Age and adopting the “all things in moderation” approach. If it has worked for me, I assure you it can do so for you.
