Want To Live Up To 100? Here’s How To Do It

Well, one grandma lived to 98, Dad to 91, Mom at 90 still going strong. 

Want To Live Up To 100? Here’s How To Do It

Whether there really is an afterlife waiting for us once the lines go flat, there’s no escaping the fact that we only have one life, and we only go through it once. There’s no restart, there’s no reset and there’s certainly no escaping what comes after all of this when our time is done.
As such, it’s only natural that we want to do this for as long as we can, right? But how do we exactly polish our applications for the centenarian club? And how do we increase our chances? Here’s our advice:
Rule number 1: Be healthy.(I'm pretty healthy for having a stroke 13 years ago, can easily walk 5 miles a day.) You should expect this, and there should be no excuses for this whatsoever. Staying healthy simply means that our bodies can work at its best at all times, and you want to keep that going for as long as you possibly can. So start moving, start watching what you eat, start taking care of yourself better and slowly but surely age your way to your 100th birthday.
Rule number 2: Be rich.(Nope, comfortable.) We know it’s not that easy to acquire wealth, and being super rich didn’t stop some people from dying pretty young, but being rich simply means that you have privilege that most people don’t. This means access to better healthcare, safe transportation, clean water and food. Basically all the things that you need to live a very comfortable life. But if this is not possible…

Rule number 3: Be active in your social life.(This I exceed at. Trivia tonight, jazz tomorrow.) If you can’t be rich in money, then you can at least be rich in friends and family. So get out, be active in your community and make as many close relationships as you can. Study shows that people who have more friends and are far from being isolated are generally happier and live longer. And even if you don’t reach that triple digit, living a life filled with friends and family is still a fulfilling one.
Rule number 4: Find your own reason to live.(I'm going to change the stroke medical world even if I have to convince all these doctors and PhD's that they know nothing about stroke. Just a bit arrogant there.) As we get older, it’s normal to get just bored of everything and lose sight of what you want to do with your remaining years. But don’t ever let age limit you from what you can try to do or even achieve. Find a reason to be alive and stick to it. This can mean a hobby, a bucket list of things you want to do, or even just friends and family. In Okinawa, a place surprisingly full of centenarians, they even have a term for it: Ikigai, which means “reason for being.”
Rule number 5: Have luck on your side.(I create my own luck. As a friend said, 'Dean packed his saddle bags for retirement early and often.') This one is really out of your control. But when all else fails, just follow all of the rules above and hope that you live up to a great age. Then again, it’s not about the destination but the journey, so make sure the life you live, no matter how long or short, is well-lived and fulfilling.
Researchers found people with central hearing loss were twice as likely to have mild cognitive impairment. Christian Langballe/Unsplash