66 Years Old: 12 Things I’ve Learned – Episode 498

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Six years ago Ted released Part 1 and Part 2 of the Ted in Your Head podcast episodes “Turning 60, What I’ve Learned.”

Apparently, he’s still learning!

Now, 6 years later, here is “66 Years Old: 12 Things I’ve Learned.”

Maybe you’ve learned these things too. If so, reminders are always good.

If not, these 12 things might be helpful.

Whether you’re 26 or 96, you’re sure to get something valuable from this episode.

 

 

Listen to this podcast episode now:

Greetings and thank you for reading this blog post of the Ted in Your Head Podcast!

I did a two podcasts in 2020 titled “Turning 60, What I’ve Learned” part one and part two.

That was six years ago. Guess what? I’m happy to say that I’m still learning.

I feel lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to be a hypnotherapist in private practice now going on for 23 years.

In my journey of using the power of hypnosis and hypnotherapy to help people change, I’ve learned  powerful strategies and modalities that I’ve applied to my own personal self-development. I’ve met and learned from people that are incredible agents of change. I’m not sure I would’ve done that if I had a different career.

I’m certainly not the smartest or wisest person out there, but I’ve learned some valuable lessons that I feel have served me. I’d like to share them here with you.

  1. Health is Wealth – my own health problems forced me to develop healthy habits such as daily walking, stretching and meditation to name a few. If you take care of your body, it will take care of you as you grow older. Just as important is taking care of your mind and your mental health. Keep on eye on your health with yearly checkups and physical exams. Do what you can to maintain a peaceful and calm mind. Let me know if I can help you with that.
  2. Cultivate Good Habits – your daily/weekly habits, will determine your future state of mind and body. The influential English poet and playwright John Dryden, said, “We first make our habits, and then our habits make us”. My morning walk is one of the best habits that I have and helps me start the day with fresh air, movement and beauty.
  3. Keep it Simple. Remember the KISS formula: “Keep it simple Sweetheart!”

David Henry Thoreau advised simplifying to avoid having life “frittered away by detail”. Socrates linked happiness to enjoying less rather than seeking more. Avoid the addiction to more stuff or might catch the disease of “affluenza”. Life is inherently simple, but we make it complicated, resulting in overwhelm and stress. Don’t major in minor things. This is hard though because it’s a complex world. That is why it’s some important to hold the intention of simplicity.

  1. Stopping. Resting. There is power in these things. Let go of the idea that just sitting on your front porch watching the world go by is a waste of time. It’s not. Cultivate the ability to just be. Take 5 minutes and go walk or sit outside. Go, go, go can make you gone, gone, gone before your time.
  2. Have an Attitude of Gratitude. One of the things that you can do while you are just being, is being grateful. An attitude of gratitude is good for your body, good for your soul, and good for your life. As soon as I wake up, I try to make my first thought one of gratitude for the gift of another day.
  3. Cultivate Relationships. The quality of your life will largely be determined by the quality of your relationships. Whether family, or friend, or business, human relationships are fundamental to survival, emotional health, and personal growth. We want to make this fundamental aspect of our humanity as strong and as good as possible.

The British clinical psychologist Sue Johnson said: “To be human is to need others, and this is no flaw or weakness”

“Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.” — Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian lawyer who led India to independence from British rule said that.

Take care of your relationships with others. Nurture them. Reach out by text or phone or email. My Aunt Laurie who lives in Oregon sends a card and a little letter everything month to me and a host of others. She’s got to be in her late 70’s or early 80’s. I really look forward to getting her letter.

  1. Give Appreciation Whenever You Can. Give appreciation to the people in your lives. Give appreciation to the person helping you on the phone. Give it to the person at the checkout counter. Just say “I appreciate you!” People will do far more for recognition and appreciation than they will do for money. It feels good and it’s good for you to be appreciative.
  2. Be Kind. Kindness is in such short supply these days. We have ability to be anything we want, let’s first and foremost be kind.

 “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” That’s the 19th century author Henry James.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”  –  Aesop, the legendary Ancient Greek storyteller said that.

It’s not so hard to be kind. As I look back, I celebrate and remember all those who were kind to me even when they didn’t need to be. I will never forget those people.

  1. Be of Service to Others. The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others. My life changed when I stopped thinking about what I could get and started thinking about what I could give. Think of service to others as the “rent” paid for living on Earth. Service is a method to discover oneself by losing selfishness and it’s a way to turn love into action.
  2. You Get to Get Old. (Check out the podcast episode I did on this 6 years ago.)

No one is promised tomorrow and all things come to an end. I lost my brother very unexpectedly, just a few days shy of his 58th birthday. I lost a good friend last month 2 weeks before her 53rd birthday. Growing old is a privilege not given to everyone. Make the mind shift if you need to that everyday above ground is a gift and an opportunity to be present to the wonder and joy of life.

I hope you enjoyed this podcast.

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

I want to remind that  you can listen to this podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com. You can also watch this podcast on YouTube.

I’m here to serve you. You can reach out to me for a complimentary consultation, over the phone, over Zoom or in person. Just go to https://tedmoreno.com/contact-us/, send me an email, and I’ll get back to you within 48 hours and probably sooner. We’ll talk about what’s going, how hypnotherapy can help you make the changes you want, and if you are ready, we’ll get you in for your first session.

“Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become”. James Clear (author best known for writing “Atomic Habits”)

Thank you and I appreciate you!

Ted

Ted A. Moreno

Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist