F50 Issue #31: October 1, 2024
Healthy Aging: Five Ways to Stay Active and Ambitious After 50!
September is Healthy Aging Month, and to celebrate, we’re highlighting people over 50 who have remained active — improving their health and leveling up their skills to achieve great things! (Keep reading to the end, because one of those people is YOU!)
First, we’d like to introduce Betty Brussel. On January 20, 2024, at the age of 99 (turning 100 in July), she competed in the 100-104 age category at a swim meet in Victoria, BC. That alone would be an accomplishment.
But Brussel did more than just compete. She broke three world records for her age group: the 400-meter freestyle swim, 50-meter breaststroke, and 50-meter backstroke.
According to an interview on The Current, a CBC Radio program, Brussel learned to swim in the Netherlands, where she was born. She trained in the canals around Amsterdam and then continued swimming for fun after moving to Canada in 1959.
And just when some people would have hung up their swim cap, Brussel decided to level up her skills! At the age of 68, she swam competitively for the first time in what used to be called the B.C. Seniors Games (now called the 55+ B.C. Games).
Three decades later, she’s still part of a team, swimming twice a week and going out for walks when she can.
You might wonder how she’s accomplished this. 68 seems late to start competing!
Well, hold on to your hats (or swim caps)! In the interview, Lorcan Daly shares a discovery he made while studying how his 93-year-old grandfather, Richard Morgan, reacted to exercise:
“The study suggested that when subjected to stimulating exercise, Morgan's cardiopulmonary and respiratory systems reacted in much the same way as would a healthy young adult. The results were published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in December.
"’The key takeaway there, we'd say, is that … the body will respond and adapt at any age,’ said Daly…. ‘Definitely no time is too late. Start now, I would say, for sure, because the body will respond.’"
And now we’d like to highlight YOU! In addition to exercise and leisure activities, you can enjoy healthy aging by leveling up your skills to chase your career dreams. In fact, you’re already doing that by subscribing to this newsletter. We applaud and celebrate you!
In an article titled “Cultivating an Unstoppable Career” (shared in Brian Clark’s Further newsletter) Trudi Roth says,
“As it turns out, chasing your dreams doesn’t have an expiration date. You just have to be willing to evolve.”
Beautifully said! With that in mind, let’s look at five ways to stay active and ambitious as you age.
Five Ways to Achieve Great Things After 50
1. Embrace your favorite activities.
Do you have certain exercises, hobbies, or work tasks you enjoy? Don’t give up on them. Even if you haven’t done them for a while, “start small, and build from there,” as researcher Mylène Aubertin-Leheudre advises in the CBC interview.
She was talking about ways to be more active, but you can apply these principles to any type of skill you’d like to hone:
“When you feel better and when you keep these habits in your lifestyle, you can start to do more specific exercise that will help you to improve your fitness.”
If you’re interested in starting a freelance career, embrace your favorite skills from a previous career and build on them. Once you start, you can do more specific training to improve existing skills.
2. Try something new.
After embracing your favorite activities, think about something else you’d like to try. It could be related to your current experiences or entirely unfamiliar.
As a goal for Healthy Aging Month, take out a sheet of paper (or a note-taking app like Evernote) and divide your list into three parts:
Start brainstorming new skills you’d like to pursue this month in each area. Dream big, and remember that age is not a limit when it comes to learning new things.
3. Identify your knowledge gaps.
In the CBC interview, Brussel admits that she hadn’t done any formal training when she started swimming competitively:
“‘I did one lane [of] breaststroke, and I didn't even do it right,’ she said, laughing. ‘I'd never been taught anything. I just picked it up.’"
But the important thing is that she started. Sometimes you need to try things out to know how you need to improve.
As you brainstorm new activities you’d like to try (and existing ones you’d like to build on), identify any knowledge gaps. Once you get started, be honest about how things are progressing and determine where you need further training.
4. Level up your skills.
In an AARP article titled “7 Steps to Build Skills and Get Hired,” Gwen Moran shares some important stats and advice.
“The pace of change is fast. One 2023 poll by online learning company edX found that the executives surveyed estimate that nearly half (49 percent) of the skills that exist in their workforce today won’t be relevant in 2025.
“Angie Kamath, dean of New York University’s School of Professional Studies, says that people who don’t devote time to upskilling (updating or adding skills to address changes in their jobs) or reskilling (learning entirely new skill sets for changing jobs or careers) may find that their options for job opportunities or advancement become more limited.”
When dreaming of your second-act career, skill development is key. Think of your existing skills as a strong foundation to build on.
Research what changes are happening in your chosen niche, find relevant skill development resources, and block out time in your schedule for learning. Even when you’re pursuing exercise or hobbies, keep your skills current so you can benefit from your activities.
5. Never stop learning!
We may have mentioned before that we’re “Swimming Parents.” Over the years, we’ve enjoyed watching a couple of our daughters compete at swim meets and accomplish great things!
And along the way, we’ve embraced this nugget of wisdom:
“Practice makes progress NOT perfect.”
To stay current in your field of endeavor, commit to lifelong learning. Don’t try to achieve perfection. Simply practice and keep progressing. And if you decide to become a freelancer, we’ll be here for you, cheering you on and supporting you!
Healthy Habits
Barrie Street, “an 87 Year Old Who Feels 48,” has a website called “Over 50 and Fit.” He shares videos, podcast episodes, and blog updates for people over 50, discussing heart rate, exercise, and other fitness tips.
Barrie is an inspiration as he recovers from serious injuries and continues to pursue an active lifestyle!
Work from Home Wisdom
We’ve received questions about time blocking in our Freelance After 50 Facebook Group, and this article from Asana shares some valuable advice.
In a nutshell, time blocking means scheduling every part of your day, using two fundamentals:
- “Visually scheduling time blocks on your calendar, so your work can’t be interrupted or scheduled over.”
- “Grouping like tasks into one concentrated block of time.”
Check out the article for more advice so you can fit exercise and other healthy activities into your schedule!
Here’s to a great Healthy Aging Month and many more to come!
Until next time,
Co-founders of Freelance University
