Living to 100

Do you want to live to be 100?

Someone sent me an article (see link below) that identifies health and lifestyle habits that it says will increase your odds of getting there.

But let’s start at the starting line. If you continue living in your current fashion, how long would you expect to live?

I tried this Longevity Calculator, and it’s great! Give it a try (it’s free) – and answer the questions honestly. Once you know how long you can expect to live, if your life continues on its current path, then answer the “live to 100” question.


Those who say that they do want to live to blow 100 candles on their birthday cake usually have a few qualifiers that they add. Here are the qualifiers that I personally would add:

1) I don’t want to be physically frail. I want as much vitality and vim as possible.

2) I pray that the dementia that afflicted my father will not pass to me. I want to be able to partake fully in the world – regardless of my age – and that requires an active, curious mental capacity.

3) I would want to still have a social community around me and in which I participate.

4) I would want to have a sense of purpose.

5) I would not want to be a “burden” to my loved ones – physically, financially, or otherwise.

I ask you to undertake the same exercise that I just did. Ask yourself under what circumstances would you want to be able to live to 100 and more.  Then turn to this article - for the health and lifestyle habits it identifies – to help you get there.

As you review each of the 11 items, ask yourself: am I willing to do this (flossing daily, moving around and exercising daily, maintaining old friendships and developing new ones, for example). Be as honest with yourself as you were with the Longevity Calculator above.
If you’re going to make it 100 – and be happy that you made it there – then you’ve got to “walk the walk.” People who simply pay lip-service to this kind of advice, well, they’ll fall significantly short of the mark.

Hopefully, most of us have many years ahead of us. Let’s make the most of them!

Life Expectancy Calculator - http://calculator.livingto100.com/calculator

How to live to be 100 -  http://www.ehow.com/how_136642_live-be-100.html

View the original article here