Love and Relationships

 Living your 100 Year Lifestyle means being aware of the choices you make, and holding a long-term vision of the healthy lifestyle you desire when you make them. Make a choice today to invest in yourself. Keep yourself healthy for yourself and all the people in your life. Remember, 100:100—100% for 100 years! 

 Ways to Bring More Companionship Into Your Life: 1. Eat with a friend.  2. Go for a walk.  3. Go to the gym.  4. Go shopping.  5. Go to the movies.  6. Go on vacation.  7. Devote yourself to a cause.

 Surround Sound Support Systems need regular maintenance to be effective. Take a look at the relationships in your life. Make a list of ALL of the people that you are interacting with on a regular basis including friends, family, neighbors, and people you may not know all that well. Mentally walk through your different environments—work, neighborhood, church, gym, school, local coffee house—and write down the names of people you interact with or who support you in some way. 

 Having the appropriate relationships in place so that you have a Surround Sound Support System available to you on a daily basis keeps you from moving from crisis to crisis during the course of your life. What if you had to go to a new mechanic every time you had car trouble? Or what if your financial advisor only specialized in debt relief and couldn’t support you in trying to build wealth? Or what if your health care provider only treated disease, and wouldn’t be able to give you all the information you need to achieve optimum health over your extended life?

 Having friends of all ages, having children in our lives, insures that throughout our lives the number of funerals we attend will be balanced out by the number of celebrations we attend.   If you do experience significant loss, allow yourself time to heal, then dive back into life.

 The passing of time can make the bonds of relationships, whether they be family or friends, all the stronger and all the more cherished. Going through life’s ups and downs together not only creates memories but makes us the people we are. Having these relationships can be the biggest joy in our lives. However, outliving these important relationships can be one of the biggest challenges of living longer.  Having a Surround Sound Support System means you have people in your life that help you have the quality of life you desire, help you reach your full potential, and stick with you through tough times. While having these different circles of friends might mean you are never alone, it might not.

 The passing of time can make the bonds of relationships, whether they be family or friends, all the stronger and all the more cherished. Going through life’s ups and downs together not only creates memories, but makes us the people we are. Having these relationships can be the biggest joy in our lives. However, outliving these important relationships can be one of the biggest challenges of living longer. 

 “No man is an island.” That often-quoted phrase was written by English poet John Donne in the winter of 1623 during a serious illness. He was reflecting on his life and lessons learned in a series of essays, and this line was a part of a much longer piece. These words were written nearly 400 years ago, but their meaning is clear and as relevant today as the day they were written. No person is truly self-sufficient. We all must rely upon the company and comfort of others in order to thrive in this life. 

 Experiencing the passing of friends and family is can be one of the greatest challenges of living a long and healthy life. People can experience loss at any age. However, the fact is that the longer you live, the more loss you will experience. Loss is a reality of life in general and of our extended life spans in particular.  That is why having multiple circles and generations of relationships is important to create balance as we age. Ongoing or significant loss in life can throw our world out of balance and lead to depression, social isolation, and emotional and physical decline. 

 Love is an important component in living The 100 Year Lifestyle. Your partner or spouse should be the #1 member of your Surround Sound Support System. Your partner or spouse, along with the other people you love during the course of your lifetime, play key roles in every aspect of your life including your emotional and physical health, your financial stability, and your sense of belonging and security. 

 Relationships are an integral part of the 100 Year Lifestyle. The fact is, no one wants to live to 100 alone. But why are they important and how is it that they play such a crucial role in your 100 Year Lifestyle?

 No one picks a spouse or partner thinking that the relationship will only last a few years. That same forethought should come into play when selecting a member of your healthcare team, the person who will partner with you in your health journey for a lifetime.

 Your 100 Year Lifestyle gives you the long-term vision necessary to make decisions in all areas of your life that will benefit you from your first breath to your last. No one wants to grow old alone, and no one has to. Create a team today to help you—and your loved ones—age in style. 100:100—100% for 100 years! 

 We’ve been looking at the importance of relationships and at love relationships in particular. But what about the other types of relationships that create not only a Surround Sound System of Support  but bring joy—and longevity—to life?  

 Living your 100 Year Lifestyle means being aware of the choices you make, and holding a long-term vision of the healthy lifestyle you desire when you make them. Make a choice today to invest in yourself. Keep yourself healthy for yourself and all the people in your life. Remember, 100:100—100% for 100 years! 

 Conversely, a relative lack of social ties is associated with depression and later-life cognitive decline, as well as with increased mortality. One study, which examined data from more than 309,000 people, found that lack of strong relationships increased the risk of premature death from all causes by 50% — an effect on mortality risk roughly comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and greater than obesity and physical inactivity.

 During the course of your lifetime some of your support systems will just dry up. Certain circles might no longer share the same interest or values. Disconnecting is always an option, but so is changing your expectations. For example, if alcohol is a destructive pattern, you may need to disconnect from happy hour friends or your wine tasting club. On the other hand, if you find your family is no longer the rock solid support system they once were, but you cannot or do not want to disconnect from them, you can reset your expectations. If they are unable or unwilling to give you the support you need, stop looking for support there. 

 How are some people able to commit to and thrive with life-long loving relationships while others are not? The answer lies in whether you use “love” as a noun or a verb. At The 100 Year Lifestyle we say that love isn’t chemistry. Love is choice.

If your list is large and you haven’t been appreciating those people in your life, there’s no time like the present to start. If your list is smaller than you thought, or than you like, now is the time to start adding people to your Surround Sound Support System. If you know people in your community, for example, but don’t know them well enough to include them in your Surround Sound Support System, make the time to get to know them better. If you haven’t been participating in your community or neighborhood, if you don’t belong to a gym or a spiritual community, if you don’t participate in hobbies—what are you waiting for?  

There are many types of relationships that we hold throughout our lifetime. There are friendships, acquaintances, work or professional relationships, community or group relationships, place-based relationships such as neighbors, just to name a few. And of course, there is relationship to self, and relationships with family members or relatives.  These relationships can play tremendous roles during our lifetime, including helping us navigate an ever-changing world. But it’s not just that there is an upside to having many relationships in our lives. There is actually a downside to not having relationships in our lives.