It’s a privilege to know people who have lived a long and healthy life for more than a century, I am fortunate enough to know not one but three of them.
Their combined age total is 312 years, they have lived through the stressful times of war and revolution, and one even served in the army.
Their simple lifestyle isn’t always easy to follow. Self-discipline is etched in their routine and they are the best judges of health and longevity.
One look at your routine and they’ll tell you everything wrong in your life. Their wisdom is beyond comprehension and their critique always hits the nail on the head.
According to them, our lifestyle is the biggest culprit that wrecks our health and ruins our chance of longevity.
This fast-paced life is burdensome and exhaustive for your brain. You are alive but you don’t have the time to live.
These are the worst habits for health according to the three centenarians who have broken the code to longevity.
A Convenient Lifestyle Will Kill Your Health
The only person more disciplined than a soldier is a centenarian soldier who has lived half his life in service.
The values of hard work and camaraderie are instilled in his soul. He still wakes up at five every morning to go for a walk.
These habits have carried forward that he still follows after decades. So, you can expect no hold bars review from him.
You won’t find sugar-coated words to cushion the blows as he will tell you the reality as it is.
When my sister-in-law took her toddler to visit him, she got an earful about how her convenience-centric life was hurting her kid.
All she did was offer her toddler a sip of her soft drink when he wouldn’t stop shouting, believing a few sips couldn’t do much harm.
That’s when grand-dad went on a tangent about how she was giving the power to a three-year-old who now understands that he can get anything if he cries loudly for it.
Moreover, the sugar content in soft drinks will skyrocket his energy and lead to a sugar crash which will make him more irritated than ever.
“Don’t give your kid everything he wants — it’s the worst thing you can do to him”, he said in anger while shaking his head at her naivety.
He doesn’t even let his middle-aged kids get off the hook for eating junk food and here she was feeding her toddler the worst food item on the planet.
The sheer disrespect for the kid’s health made him raging mad which turned into a lecture on the biggest challenge for humans — self-control.
If she weren’t drinking the soft drink then she wouldn’t have to give it to her kid in the first place. Set an example for the kid so you won’t have to deny him things in the first place.
Her poor choices led to evident disappointment on his face. Her disregard for health and nutrition took a toll on his mood.
He has lived his life with utmost discipline and instilled the same beliefs in his kids, so it was not at all acceptable to him that his great-grandkid was fed the sweet poison.
After a swift lesson in values, the lecture shifted to the importance of health and how we’re wrecking it daily with irresponsible choices.
You put convenience over everything else, including your health, chasing short-term gratification via junk food will wreck your biggest asset.
Here’s what you can do:-
Health is the wealth that once lost can’t be built back. It’s the oldest truth in the world.
Yet we put convenience over it and wreck it a little daily. Health starts with diet; the earlier you instill this value in your kids the better.
You can save them from the thaws of chronic diseases by teaching them the value of a healthy diet.
So, be more responsible for the future of your loved ones and cut out ultra-processed foods from your diet.
A Routine Is Your Biggest Ally for Mental Health
A centenarian is the pride of the family. You celebrate them as much as you can before it’s too late.
Festivals, holidays, and vacations are a reason to see them and to stay connected to their greatness.
Bhuji(Aunt) was the centenarian in my family who we all looked up to. Her life story could make a blockbuster biopic.
She left her country in the middle of the night to protect her family from the brainwashed mob who wanted them to either change their identity and religion or leave the country.
They left everything behind and started from scratch in a foreign yet familiar land. She built up her life again one step at a time, and dug herself and her family out of the burrow of poverty.
She picked up all kinds of odd jobs to feed her family, from selling rubber bands to handmade knitwear. The struggle finally paid off when her son established his clothing business.
She retired from her job to take the reins of the family back in her hand. She has been the voice of reason in promoting higher education for girls in her family and the neighborhood.
A person deprived of an opportunity could know its real value, that’s why she was adamant that all kids regardless of their gender should have the opportunity to study.
A tough life didn’t break her spirit she wasn’t deterred from her mission no matter who stood up in the opposition, she used her mental strength to silence the shout of patriarchy.
Hardship can break your spirit and make you question every injustice, it can wring out your self-belief drop by drop.
But her past tragedies never affected the future of the girls around her. She fought with everyone to get them their birthright.
The biggest ally in this social war for equality was her belief. She knew she had to do the right thing to secure the future of those girls.
She built an anti-fragile mindset with her everyday routine. Small habits that cemented her self-belief.
Mindfulness was the central element of her morning routine. She used to practice it every day when she did her daily Sāmāyika.
Self-control and retrospection are a big part of Jainism which you can attain through Sāmāyika — the holy meditation.
You have to sit in one spot to practice the three pillars of self-improvement — meditation, solitude, and self-retrospection for 48 minutes.
It sounds like a long practice but you’ll be done sooner than you realize as there’s a lot you can do like reciting scriptures, mantra meditation, and even simple contemplation.
This practice gives you a chance to step away from the humdrum of family life and think about better, more important things.
She practiced it daily to contemplate her decisions and hardships, it motivated her to forge ahead on the path of social justice.
Being religious has its perks, you’re obliged to follow practices like regular prayers and observe fasts that improve your mental health.
She passed away at 110 and we celebrated her life with a funeral that had a big band and drummers just like a jazz funeral.
Here’s what you can do:-
Life gets tiresome, living out the same day again and again without a change will take a toll on your mental health.
Combat this monotony through rituals that accelerate your spiritual growth by following religious practice. They need not be restrictive or long, you decide how you want to pursue your faith.
And if you’re an atheist then nature could be your calling. The benefits of nature for mental health are paramount, so mindfulness in nature is always a good idea.
Stupid simple habits that kept my great-grandaunt in good health for 110 years
Prioritize Rituals That Make You Happy For Ikigai
It only takes a hello to gather someone’s hard-earned life lessons. A small talk with my pharmacist revealed the true meaning of longevity.
Hindus practice full-fledged tonsure after a death in the family, so my pharmacist’s bald head led me to ask about his welfare.
He told me his centenarian grandma had passed on to the other world. She defied all odds to achieve the unthinkable.
She became an English teacher when most Indians didn’t even have the opportunity to study.
She taught till her last breath and refused to retire from spreading knowledge. Her life purpose was to teach and she did that every day of her life.
She followed her ikigai to live a long and healthy life. Her purpose kept her spirit alive. Now her students have taken it upon themselves to keep her mission going by giving free tuition to underprivileged kids every Sunday.
Her legacy is what motivational stories are made of, but her lifestyle was even more inspiring. She was a fitness freak at heart who did yoga daily.
But there’s only one habit that she advised her grandson — waking up early. She believed you can mend everything that’s going wrong in your life once you adopt this habit.
Your health, wealth, and relations will be sorted out once you incorporate this habit into your life.
Her strong conviction made him rethink his lifestyle so he joined a morning fitness class to ensure waking up early.
It’s a long-held belief that night owls function better at night, I used to be one but following his example I have tried to shift my routine.
I joined a morning yoga class a month ago and so far I have made it to class every morning without a break.
My productivity has only risen and my sleep quality is better than before. This streak has helped me write in the morning as well.
Here’s what you can do:-
Morning light is associated with many benefits including better productivity and mental health.
So, form a routine that allows you exposure to early morning sunlight. If I am not exercising then I spend this time outdoors doing morning pages.
Add a variation of mindfulness in your morning routine for better emotional health.
The most valuable inheritance a grandson got from his dadi(grandma) medium.com
Conclusion
Age is more than just a number, it packs the experience of an individual into its being.
Centenarians have vast experience in life that far supersedes even their impressive age.
Their routine and rituals can teach you more about life than any school. You can improve your life just by being in contact with their greatness.