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| Photo by Vladmir Byazrov. |
Happy New Year! In this glorious time of reflection and making promises to yourself, it's good to consider past this year and to the many years ahead. Like how long you want to live and how well you want to live those years.
There have been a few studies through the years asking people who cross the triple-digit mark how they think they managed to stay alive, and there are some common themes to what they all say (generally something like work hard, have fun, don't worry about everything, and be happy). Here's a great compilation of 100 Pieces of Advice from 100-Year-Olds, assembled by Mental Floss.
My favourite bits of advice are probably actually useless because they're things you have very little (or no) control over like "choose the right parents" and "don't die too young." Then there are the generic good ideas revolving around having a positive frame of mind and exercising lots, things I've always been in favour of. There are, however, plenty of nuggets to live by, and these are the ones I'll be considering in the early days of 2014 (original numbering preserved):
6. “Fall in love, get married. Sex is to be encouraged.”
7. “Even if you feel hatred, keep it to yourself. Don’t hurt other people for any reason.”
13. “If you are embarrassed to be dating someone, you should not be dating them.”
18. “Most time things will figure themselves out.”
20. “Have a pet. Life gets lonely sometimes. Pets are reminders of how we’re all living things.”
21. “I’m not saying you have to practice one religion or another, or not practice one religion or another… I’m just saying that you should figure out what you believe in and live it completely.”
38. “You can involve yourself in local problems. There are all sorts of things that have to be tended to in the world.”
39. “Have lots of people in the house and lots of different kinds of people—young, old, black, white, people from all over the world. People have always energized me.”
46. “There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65.”
79. “Do something interesting every day; otherwise you disintegrate.”
88. “Mind your own business, and don’t eat junk food.”
93. “Never run out of responsibility; if you don’t have one, find one. Find a cause and knock yourself out for it. It will enhance your brainpower, interest in life, and keep you alive longer. I’m alert because I work. Virtue is its own reward.”
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