Recently, I’ve been focusing on inspiring people to Be Ageless. Many of you may imagine that’s about exercise, vitamins, and green-tinted healthy shakes — and it partially is — but one of the greatest keys to agelessness might surprise you: resilience.
To me, there’s no better recent example of this that Sharon Stone. For many, the Basic Instinct actress seemed to live a perfect, problem-free existence: she’s an iconic Hollywood beauty, smart, wealthy and passionate about life. Famously, Stone has helped raise enormous amounts of money for all kinds of charities and causes throughout the world, and her energy seemed boundless.
But as I discovered in the last February/March issue of AARP magazine, Stone has been, like all of us, hit by enormous challenges and obstacles in her life, including the breakup of her marriage, a custody battle for her child (which she eventually lost), and some serious health issues as well.
For Stone, who’s now in her 50s (and still gorgeous), to be so forthright and brave in sharing her life’s challenges really resonated with me. I mean, who hasn’t had challenges in life? Wealth, beauty and fame certainly don’t provide a protective barrier, as the heart-breaking death of Whitney Houston recently makes all too clear.
And that brings me back to resilience, which is how you view, handle and process life’s inevitable challenges. I’ve certainly had mine–and how! For example, my brother Curtis Sliwa was shot and seriously wounded (thankfully he survived), and my road to motherhood in my 50s was long and challenging — I had to do it solo or not at all. So my own journey has certainly been peppered with disappointments, setbacks, and forks in the road. That’s life.
But for all of us, the more you can learn from trauma, release it, and focus on healing and moving forward, you will not only become stronger, but it also kicks in the Universal Law of resilience. We are all wired to rebound, find the opportunity rather than the loss, and spring back to life even stronger than before.
That’s why resilience is my first heavy-duty key to agelessness. No matter what happens, that’s when you go deep inside, really love yourself and tap into that Source energy within, and find meaning in your life.
By doing this, you’re constantly creating something new, and thus, regenerating yourself. You become on artist of life — your life. By creating anew, you’re also triggering regeneration via new belief systems, new people, and new opportunities that give you new energy.
Agelessness is not about having a stress-free, happy go lucky life. It’s about how you perceive what’s going on, and what you do to positively shift what comes into your life, that matters. There’s a whole chapter about transformation in my book, Life Shift (page 105), that talks about turning fear into courage, doubt into belief, and regrets into possibilities.
Remember, those inevitable bumps and bruises, when perceived as normal parts of life — and not something to fight against — can serve to stimulate your life Source energy. Rather than using that energy to resist what is happening, which drains your energy and ages you, embrace it all, and work with the opportunities for change they create. You’ll find newfound energy, revitalization and youth.
Take a moment and write down a few examples of a recent bump in your own life’s road — a broken relationship, lost job, etc. — and notice if there’s anger, resentment or sadness you need to release, so you can see the opportunity the lies behind it.
Tap into your in-born resilience and you’ll be free to create something new, and even better, in the process.
In her incredible 40-plus-year career, Aleta St. James has been the role model for regeneration, defying limitation, and living your dreams at any age. Aleta made worldwide news in 2004 when she became the oldest woman in America at the time to give birth to twins, at age 57. She blew the lid off of society’s perception of aging.
Aleta has also gained fame as an internationally renowned energy healer, intuitive life coach and successful author of the top-selling book, Life Shift: Let Go and Live Your Dream. In recognition of living her “winding up and not down” philosophy, Aleta was recently named one of AARP Magazine’s “people who inspire.” She has also been featured in numerous magazine articles. She can be found at http://www.aletastjames.com. Aleta is also one of the featured subjects in NURTURE: Stories of New Midlife Mothers – the only art gallery show dedicated to women choosing motherhood over 40. It is now traveling North America.