Frank Lieberman-Part 4

  Frank Lieberman- Part 4

 Even Hollywood depicts rugged action stars in retirement age as adventurous and principled. To illustrate, the 1992 movie “Unforgiven” was directed and starred Clint Eastwood.  In this film, Clint, as William Munny, was a retired gunman. He did not stay retired, and after a few attempts, he was able to get back on his horse to gallop away and hand out frontier justice when it was necessary. “High Noon, “a movie made in 1952 was about Will Kane, portrayed by Gary Cooper.  In this film, Will was about to retire from being the town marshal.  However, on his last day on the job, he learned that a man he sent to prison years earlier was returning on the noon train to seek revenge. Did Cooper fight or take flight?  He stayed to fight-and won.  In 1979, the film “Going in Style” was about three older men trying to subsist, rather unsuccessfully, on Social Security income.  They then robbed a bank and brought excitement into their lives.  Even Hollywood can tell a good story about people who age without losing relevance, even if they employ aggression and violence in their films, in addition to responsibility, loyalty, and friendship.

Over the years Time Magazine has had a number of interesting commentaries and articles in reference to aging.  They reported that only about 30% of aging is genetically based, which means that other variables are under our control.  Let me repeat this fact: some 70% of how we age is under our control!  When people truly grasp that significant fact, they will realize that we are not just a product of our genes, and that we can take an active stance in how our life unfolds. It is up to us to make the best of our lives and our health.  If we can change our thinking, we can change our behavior, and in my professional life, that is exactly how I observed the way transformations unfold: change in thinking results in behavioral change.  We have conscious control of our thoughts, which means we can plan, set goals, and make changes in our thinking and therefore our behavior.

To be continued