“The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Companion oil: Young Living Longevity™)
On one hand, I love this quote — making every day count is something most of us aspire to but a reminder in the midst of a typical weekday is handy.
On the other hand, what if we don’t have to choose?
While unforeseen circumstances might have a say beyond our control (as it sadly turned out for Martin Luther King Jr.), we can control a bunch of other things to increase our odds of having both quality and longevity.
Sounds like a theme for Feel Good Friday if ever I thought of one!
According to Dan Buettner in his popular TED talk How to Live to be 100+, there are nine characteristics common among all of the world’s longest living people found in five ‘Blue Zones’ — regions where people are leading active lives beyond 100 years of age. And not all are in remote locations far from technology and modern life. Ed Rawlings and Marge (around 14 minutes in) kick-start a dose of instant inspiration!
Check out his TED talk for 20 minutes well invested, and here are some key takeaways.
Move naturally
Inhabitants of these zones “… set up their lives so that they are constantly nudged into physical activity.” Heading up and down stairs, getting up and down off the floor, walking, gardening and minimising use of labour-saving devices.
Right outlook
Having a sense of purpose is vital, including pursuing passions and giving your talents an outlet.
Reversing inflammation caused by stress is also key.
“Each of these cultures takes time to downshift … when you’re in a hurry or stressed out, that triggers something called the inflammatory response, which is associated with everything from Alzheimer’s disease to cardiovascular disease. When you slow down for 15 minutes a day, you turn that inflammatory state into more of an anti-inflammatory state.”
Many Blue Zone inhabitants regularly meditated or prayed. I’m not sure if they played bingo with George Burns but I’m thinking we can add regular laughter to the list.
“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” George Burns
Eat wisely
Keep it simple with a predominantly plant-based diet (occasional small serves of meat are fine), include a little wine every day and have strategies to prevent overeating such as regular small meals served on small plates, not buffet ‘all you can eat’ style!
Connect
Keep your families front and centre, from children to ageing parents.
Belong to a faith-based community (worth four to 14 years of extra life expectancy if done four times a month). And surround yourself with the right people. Longevity is a way of life and we carry our circle of friends with us for much or all of our lives. If your friends are physically active, eat well, drink a little but not a lot and both trusting and trustworthy, that will have a tremendous positive impact over time. (Sounds a lot like being in Young Living, come to think of it!)
There, not so tough, hey?
Being a lover of essential oils and a glad recipient of countless ways they’ve helped me over the time, my mind can’t help but go straight to using them as a tool to help stay on track with these things and further amplify their potential.
And I also believe antioxidants are crucial to combating the free radicals and oxidative damage of day to day life. Along with my favourite powerhouse juice, NingXia Red®, Young Living has a mega-antioxidant blend of essential oils ranked among the most potent antioxidants currently known: Longevity™.
And as a bonus from a beauty perspective, antioxidants are thought to protect the skin by attaching themselves to free radicals, minimising their harm in support of more youthful-looking skin. Longevity™ has a ‘Whoa, Nelly!’ rating of around 1,511,000 (Micromole TE per 100g) on the ORAC scale which measures effectiveness against free radicals. For ease of use, Young Living provides Longevity™ in both essential oil and capsule form. Always thoughtful!
This will also connect you up with The Good Oil Team for our personal support and coaching. We'd love to help you on your journey to vibrant well-being the natural way!
Any questions? Please get in touch via our Contact page.
I might park my car alongside the tumbleweeds in the most remote part of the shopping centre car park on the weekend for some incidental exercise! How about you? Shall we start a trend?
