Get out of your comfort zone

I’ve been doing some thinking about age since my recent birthday, when I turned 78. I remember as a kid, listening to Jack Benny on TV, and when he was asked his age he said, “I’m 39.” Everyone laughed because he was clearly in his 60s. I thought it was such a dumb joke as a kid, but now that I’m at an age when 60 would look pretty good, I realize it is no joke at all.

As we age, we lose stuff. You know what I mean. Just look in the mirror or try to stay up all night like you might have done years ago to write a paper or hang out with pals. You don’t have quite the same reserve or energy quotient.

So the question is: How can you make yourself the best you can be within the physiological limits that nature imposes?

Years ago, I wrote a book, “The Longevity Code: Your Personal Prescription for a Longer, Sweeter Life.” It was a success; we sold about 50,000 copies, which was good for a self-help book. It rolled into a PBS show, and I got to travel the country, plus even made a trek down to Australia, to talk about my concept.

The idea is that we have five spheres at work in our lives:

• Physical sphere (our body);

• Brain, mind and mood sphere;

• Social sphere;

• Religious or spiritual sphere; and,

• Our material world

Balance all of them, and you can reach your optimal health. In all ways.

This is not an easy thing to do. Life goes on, circumstances change, our bodies are biodegradable, our social situation changes, we lose friends and those dear to us, and so on. You know what I mean.

Now, some people are more resilient than others. You know who they are. They experience loss and seem to bounce right back. Others are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Everything seems to send them downhill.

There are lots of reasons for the way things are in our lives; this is not a Disney movie where everyone lives “happily ever after.” But there are things we can do to help manage all this.

I think one way to kickstart vitality is to go outside of your comfort zone. This just might open up possibilities you never thought about, and it might spill over to other things such as attitude, memory issues, physical challenges — in all sorts of ways that can enrich your life.

When we’re younger, we’re always looking for ways to “enrich” our lives. You might not call it that, but that’s really what we’re doing when, as younger people, we take risks we might never consider when we become “older and wiser.” That’s because when we’re older, we often know the downside of that risk-taking.

So back to my idea of getting out of your comfort zone. Two years ago, I mentioned something about my fear of horses. They are big animals, and I was just afraid of them whenever I’d see them. I’ve never had a bad experience with a horse, by the way, it was just an old fear.

A wonderful woman, Teri, contacted me (she might be reading this column right now). She told me she had a horse and that if I ever wanted to brave it, she would introduce me to the world of horses.

So, I pulled on my big-boy pants and went out to the barn where Teri keeps her horse. After some initial getting used to the animal, I eventually got on the horse. Then Teri realized, since I toppled a bit getting off the horse, that I need some lessons.

The long and short of it is that the experience was a game-changer for me when it came to horses. I am writing this from Wyoming, where I just got off a trail ride through the beautiful, rugged country outside of Jackson Hole.

It was scary, magical stuff, riding a horse up and down those rocky trails. I knew I could hike on something like that, but trusting this beast of a horse (his name was George, a beautiful palomino) to do the job was not easy for me.

One day during this trip, our group did something that was truly amazing for me (kids might call it corny, and it was honestly a bit dangerous). We brought our horses into a very large outside arena and walked them around, then we went to sit on the ground off to the side. The horses, all 10 of them, saw us and came over, walking around and through our circle, sniffing us.

They were checking us out while we were just sitting there. Stupid, dumb, fun. Yes, full of risk for sure, but it’s risky sitting on the couch and putting chips in your mouth while you watch the latest episode of your favorite streaming thing-a-ma-jig.

This silly thing — I say silly because, at 78, I should always be thinking about safety — has given me energy. I realize there is more journey ahead for me that I never even thought was there. This is a personal journey, as it is for everyone, but I’m sharing one thought.

My spin: Find something outside your comfort zone — physical, mental, social, spiritual or your material world — then make a plan and take action. Age can be limiting in many ways, but you might discover that life has more to offer than you thought. Stay well.