Exercise will seem easier when you cut out the negative self-talk....

Exercise will seem easier when you cut out the negative self-talk Feeling unmotivated to exercise? If you repeatedly tell yourself how much you hate to do it, your workout may suffer from your bad attitude. Turning negative self-talk around allows you to not only feel better, but also to exercise harder and for longer periods of time, studies show. More intense exercise for longer periods burns more calories and may eventually help speed weight loss when done consistently. Cyclists who repeated motivational phrases to themselves, such as, “I got this,” pedaled for an average of two minutes longer and reported easier effort than when compared to a baseline ride, according to a study published in the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. In short, what you say can and will be used against you (or for you!) during your workout. To transform negative thoughts into motivating ones, start by drawing a line down the middle of a piece of paper, says Jonathan Alpert, New York-based psychotherapist and author of Be Fearless: Change Your Life In 28 Days. “On the left, write the negative, self-defeating thought (the act of recognizing them is huge). On the right side, re-frame the thought,” Alpert says. Here are seven ways to fill out the right side of your paper with phrases to get you going: Instead of thinking: “I’m too old.” Change to: “I can make progress no matter what my age.” Age doesn’t discriminate, Alpert says. “A body is a body and it functions best when it is in shape, regardless of the age,” he notes. Also, exercise performs functions far beyond just making you look toned. Weight training, in particular, helps you maintain muscle that would otherwise diminish with aging (called sarcopenia)...

What It Takes to Turn Your Passion Into a Career...

Enthusiasm isn’t enough. Follow these tips from the author of ‘What Is Your What?’ (The following is an adaptation from What Is Your WHAT?, the new New York Times bestseller by Steve Olsher. You can now get a free copy of the book at the What Is Your WHAT? website.) We’re often told that if we pursue our passion and do what we love as a career, we will — to quote Confucius — never have to work a day in our life. And let’s not forget Oprah who popularized the phrase: “Do what you love and the money will follow.” In theory, pursuing your passion as a career should be easy, effortless and create a monetary nirvana where income flows and happiness prevails. Reality, however, demonstrates that few who follow such advice will ever reach their desired destination. When Passion-Following Turns Sour It seems like a dirty trick. We’re encouraged to chase the carrot and before we know it, we’re miles down the rabbit hole with nothing to show for our efforts but mountains of debt that may take decades to repay. Consider the countless examples of those who quit their day jobs to pursue passion-related opportunities (cupcakes anyone?) only to end up emotionally, spiritually, and financially drained. When you throw in the harsh realities of capitalism, the happy-go-lucky “if you build it, they will come” rhetoric is a blatant disservice to those who lack clarity on the elements truly needed to bring their anticipated utopia to fruition. Now, before the hate mail starts rolling in, I’m not saying passion isn’t important. I am saying that you need to focus on cultivating a sustainable career… not merely engaging in a hobby. Creating a flourishing existence that provides a...

Federal Agency Jobs Just for People 55+...

These two programs specifically want older workers to fill their openings Gary Olson put in 32 years as an analytical chemist at Kodak in Rochester, N.Y., including stints in R&D and on digital innovations. “I had a great career there,” Olson says. “I was never bored.” But worn down by Kodak’s constant restructuring and layoffs, in January 2002, at 56, Olson took a generous buyout offer. He and his wife moved to Seattle, Wash. to be closer to their daughter and her family and Olson kicked back for a few years. In 2005, he spotted a Craigslist job posting by the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging for a “senior environmental employee” at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Senior Environmental Employment Program and position were reserved for workers 55 and older. Intrigued, he applied. “I wasn’t going to do what I did for more than 30 years,” says Olson. “I wanted to do something different.” He got the job. The 2 Programs for Workers 55+ Ever heard of the EPA’s Senior Environmental Employment Program, which has been around for 31 years? How about the comparable, seven-year-old Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture? I hadn’t. These jobs are specifically designed to tap into the experience of boomers, yet not once in interviews for my Next Avenue column on job opportunities for people in their 50s and 60s did these programs or ones like them come up. (The idea for this column came from my editor who learned about them at the American Society on Aging’s recent Aging in America Conference. ) “Older workers are a largely untapped resource,” says Gregory Merrill, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Older Worker Career Center,...

Why Even Adults Need Heroes...

Superman and young athletes don’t do it for us anymore It was easy to have a hero when I was young. Heroes could be anyone older, wiser and more accomplished, and when you’re a kid, that could be pretty much anyone. Growing up in the 1960s, if you asked me to name those I most admired, I probably would have answered NFL quarterback Bart Starr or baseball great Mickey Mantle. If you asked me to name a hero who wasn’t a professional athlete, I probably would have come up with Charles Lindbergh. Now, however, it’s harder for me to say who my heroes are. A Different Perspective I’ve heard too much about Mickey Mantle’s off-field drinking and skirt-chasing to consider him a role model today. Something similar happened once I read about Lindbergh’s views about racial superiority and staying out of World War II. Now that I’m older and wiser, or perhaps more cynical and more attuned to feet of clay, whom can I admire today? To paraphrase Tina Turner, do I need another hero? It’s more complicated, but still possible and valuable to find a hero, even as we get older, according to Scott Allison and George Goethals. They’re a couple of University of Richmond psychologists who have written extensively about heroism in books like Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them. Allison said we seek out heroes because they have the potential to energize and inspire us. We also seek wisdom from our heroes, hoping they will reveal meaning, truth and purpose, according to Allison. “They help us grow and improve and heal wounds. They give us hope and they elevate us emotionally,” Allison said. Recognizing the Flaws But hero worship becomes more nuanced and...

How to Create Meaning in Dementia Care...

One of the most important things to a caregiver of someone with Alzheimer’s is to know their loved one is happy. However, they are often so overwhelmed by the responsibility of caregiving, that the fun of being together is lost. All engagement tends to be for survival and not for enrichment. This often results in a negative atmosphere affecting the mood of everyone, including the person with Alzheimer’s. Left unchecked, the resulting tensions will often lead to behavioral issues from both individuals. Slipping Away Unsure how to even act around each other, the care partners (the person with Alzheimer’s and his or her caregiver) may fall into a world of isolation. They may worry about what others think or feel their situation is unlike others’. They can become so uncomfortable that they may withdraw from family, friends and society. Changing these tendencies is important to the health and well-being of both individuals because meaningful human interaction, whether in a one-on-one situation or in a group setting, is important to everyone’s happiness. Finding Happiness With Alzheimer’s disease, it’s important that engagement is adapted to meet the changing needs of the individual while focusing on the things that enrich the person’s life and bring happiness. For this to work, the caregiver must accept how things are now and discover ways to incorporate meaningful activities on daily basis. While a caregiver will routinely look back at how things were, it’s vital to appreciate that the person with Alzheimer’s is the same person as in the past. It’s the disease that’s making the individual act different, and typically, the same things will still bring happiness to his or her heart. These men and women still want to be included in activities and to...

Cards That Offer Better Words for a Serious Illness...

Their cancer-survivor maker knows the pain of kind but hurtful sentiments If you have ever had cancer or another serious illness, you can probably make a long list of unhelpful things that friends, family and well-meaning acquaintances have said to you. “Everything happens for a reason.” “I read about this miraculous new treatment on the Internet!” “Oh, I knew someone who had that same thing and they died.” Emily McDowell, a cancer survivor, has heard them all. In response, the Los Angeles graphic designer came up with a set of eight “Empathy Cards” to be used when traditional “get well” cards just don’t work. She launched them this week. Another set is due out in December, she told NPR’s Ina Jaffe in an interview. A Terrifying Diagnosis McDowell learned 15 years ago, at age 24, that she had Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. “The most difficult part of my illness wasn’t losing my hair, or being erroneously called ‘sir’ by Starbucks baristas, or sickness from chemo,” she said on her company’s website. “It was the loneliness and isolation I felt when many of my close friends and family members disappeared because they didn’t know what to say, or said the absolute wrong thing without realizing it.” Among the potentially offensive comments: referring to cancer as “a journey.” “With time and distance, some people do come tothat conclusion on their own that this … feels like a journey,” McDowell told NPR. “But a lot of people really feel like ‘If this is a journey, I’d like my ticket refunded,’ or ‘This is a journey to hell and back.’ ” Coming Up Empty To be fair, it is hard to know what to say. When we...

Why Boomers Need to Get Tested for Hepatitis C...

People over 50 make up the majority of those with the deadly disease Most of the people who get hepatitis C today are intravenous drug users who share needles. That may be the image that comes to mind when you think of the disease. But decades ago, before widespread screening of the blood supply began in 1992, individuals who received blood transfusions or organ transplants were at risk of coming in contact with the virus. Transmission was common this way, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Once in the body, hepatitis C stays there for about 70 percent of sufferers, according to Dr. John Ward, director of the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis. Boomers Are Unaware And many boomers — who make up 80 percent of the approximately 3 million who have the disease — do not know they are infected. Yet all it takes to find out is a simple blood test. “It sets up a home in the liver and then silently, with very few symptoms, it begins to cause inflammation in the liver,” Ward said. “Over years that leads to cirrhosis, severe scarring of the liver.” It can also result in liver cancer. There was a high incidence of hepatitis C years ago, when the boomers were young, Ward said. They may have shared needles just once or twice (the virus is highly transmissible) or gotten a childhood blood transfusion. “They didn’t know about it, they never got tested for it, and all of a sudden they start getting sick,” Ward said. CDC to Boomers: Get the Test The CDC has actively worked to alert those born between 1945 and 1965 of the need to get the blood test. But Ward said it’s...

Skype – Connecting with Loved Ones on the Internet...

Skype is such a wonderful way to connect worldwide From Wikipedia’s article on Skype: As of February 2012, there were 34 million concurrently online on Skype; at the end of 2010, there were over 660 million worldwide users with an average of over 100 million active each month. Skype was acquired by Microsoft in May 2011 for $8.5 billion. Microsoft’s Skype division headquarters are in Luxembourg, but most of the development team and 44% of the overall employees of the division are still situated in Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia (that country where beautiful lace shawls come from). But, what does that mean to you? And, how do you use it? Join us for learning how to use this wonderful tool. Seven Lessons in Setting Up and Using Skype Lesson 1: Does Your Computer Have What it Needs for Skype Length: 2:00 Lesson 2: Installing the Skype Software  Length: 3:40 Lesson 3: Setting up a Skype Account  Length: 3:55 Lesson 4: Launching Skype from the Desktop Length: 3:02   Lesson 5: Creating a Contact List on Skype Length: 2:43 Lesson 6: Making a Call on Skype Length: 3:57 Lesson 7: The Factors and Ways to Communicate on Skype Length: 4:19 Have fun with YouTube, and be sure to check out our YouTube site. Authors: Linda Marsolek and Lise Pellerin © 2015 Designing Brighter Tomorrows, Inc. This site is for information only, and is for your voluntary use at your own risk. See Terms of...