I’m 50. When I was in my teens, I remember thinking that 50 was old. My dad was in his 40’s when I was in high school, and he turned 50 when I was in the Marines. I remember thinking how old that was, and how I had so much to do and so long before I turned 50 myself. Well, that was what feels like an instant ago, and I find myself a 50 year-old man. But I don’t feel old, and I refuse to be an old man just yet.

As I look through the Facebook photos of people I went to school with, I notice that a bunch of us look pretty darned good for our age while some of us… well, not so much. It seems some people accept getting old, and in doing so, seem to accelerate its effects.

Not me.

I’m not getting old gracefully. I’m going to fight it by eating well, exercising, and staying active.

You don’t have to accept being old by acting old. You have your health in your hands. Eat well. Exercise. Get out and do things. Don’t accept aging sitting down.