I was reading a book by Deepak Chopra this weekend called ‘Ageless Body, Timeless Mind’. This is a relatively old book first printed in 1983 and kindly lent to me by my cousin. I struggled to get into the thing but after a while I have find it quite inspiring. Chopra postulates (and I have not finished the book) that ageing is a leant activity. From what I can gather the theory is that our mental attitude plays a massive role in how we age. This is not a mind blowing concept. I think that it is obvious that in life, attitude is 90% of absolutely everything that we do. With the right attitude or mind set we can accomplish anything.

One of the experiments that he quotes involved a group of people from a nursing home. The frailest residents were chosen for the exercise which involved a weight training regimen. It was reported that within eight weeks, wasted muscles had improved by 300% and there were improvements in both coordination and balance. These are amazing results! Some of the residents who had not been able to walk unaided were now able to walk to the bathroom on their own. Chopra commented that the true wonder was that the youngest partaker was 87 years old, and the oldest 96!

Chopra then contends that nothing physically in the body changed for this to happen. If you are 96 years and afraid of moving, you will waste away. All that changed in this experiment were the mind sets of the people involved. Suddenly they had a new belief that at the age of 87+ it was a good idea to step into a weight room and push some weight.

Does this not show how incredibly powerful our beliefs can be. It makes you think, does it not? I know that this is only one study, but then again Chopra is not the only person out there who has the same contention. There are so many books out there on the subject of beliefs and their power. So if it is true, what does this mean for you and I?

I certainly want to be that 96 year old dude in the weight room pushing weights with my great grandson! Not only that, I want to get rid of absolutely all the beliefs in my life that are limiting me in any way.

A long time ago, I read in some surfing literature, and yes there is such a thing, a tip for catching waves. It was written that if you are going to paddle for a wave, paddle as if your life depended on it, otherwise do not bother. I think that this also talks to attitude in life. Give whatever you are doing everything you have got, otherwise you should be questioning why you are bothering. Are you looking for poor or average returns? I suppose that this is what you get if you don’t put it all in.

I am a fan of giving life my all!