62

What Turning 62 Has Taught Me About Health

Today I turn 62.

Somewhere along the way I assumed that by this age I’d be wiser calmer and maybe even more motivated.

Like maybe one morning you wake up and suddenly it’s easy to do all the things that take care of your health.

Eat well.
Exercise.
Drink your water.
Go to bed on time.

Like motivation finally decides to show up and start pulling its weight.

Yeah, still waiting. Turns out motivation is flaky as hell. It shows up when it wants. It disappears when life gets busy. It ghosts you when you’re tired or stressed or annoyed or when you would rather do literally anything else. So no. Motivation didn’t suddenly appear today.

But something better did.

Consistency.

Health has always meant something a little deeper to me. If you follow me and have read my blog post, you know that my dad died of heart disease at 60 years old. I’m 62 now.

Which means I’ve already lived two years longer than he got.

That is not lost on me.

I think about that more than people probably realize.

Every year past that age feels like a reminder that none of this is guaranteed.

Not your health, not your time and not your ability to move your body and feel strong. That changes how you look at things. Health stops being about looking a certain way. It becomes about protecting the life you still get to live.

Somewhere along the way I stopped chasing smaller and chased stronger. Stronger legs. Stronger lungs. A stronger heart and a stronger mindset. Because strength changes everything. Strength means you can move through life without fear. It means independence. It means you’re not fragile. And the older I get, the more important that becomes.

Here’s the funny part though. People assume things go downhill as you get older. But if you keep showing up, that’s not always true. It doesn’t have to be true. In a lot of ways I’m actually getting better. Stronger. More capable. And a lot less interested in bullshit. After enough years you realize the answer never changes.

Lift weights. Move your body. Eat nutrient dense foods most of the time. Sleep. Hydrate. Reduce Stress. And keep repeating. It’s not exciting. It’s not trendy. But it works. It always has. Shout out for the boring basics. I’m fine being a basic bitch.

One thing I wish more women understood is that it’s not too late. Not art 40, 50, 60 and beyond. Your body will respond to what you repeatedly do. Give it strength and movement, nutrient dense food and enough rest and it will fight like hell to meet you there. The problem is most people quit too early. Or they keep waiting for that motivation. Still waiting on that one myself. LOL.

What actually works is a lot less glamorous. You show up. Even when you don’t feel like it. You do the boring basics. Then you wake up the next day and you do it again And again. It’s for the life haul. That’s the real magic.

My dad didn’t get the chance to turn 62. I did. So I’m not wasting the years I get. Every workout. Every ride. Every decision to take care of my health means a little more. I’m not chasing perfection. I’m just showing up. And after al these years one this is still true. Consistency ages better than motivation.

And aging is a privilege.