Tag Archive for: anticipate

Anticipate Roadblocks

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As the new year approaches, I’m sure that you’re thinking about and planning for what you want to accomplish in 2026. We set goals for many aspects of our lives; although they could apply to any goal you set, I’ll keep my comments related to health goals.

Plenty of books, videos, and on-line groups discuss how to set goals, how to execute your plan, and how to construct your day to achieve those goals. The one they often miss, especially related to health, is what do you do when something goes wrong. You can make up the best schedule to accomplish your goals, but what do you do when something you planned gets changed and is beyond your ability to control?

Anticipate that there will be problems and have a back-up plan in place, both for a short-term, one-day thing or something that may last longer. Here are a couple of examples.

  • Have a back-up breakfast, lunch, or dinner if your schedule is interrupted. It could be something simple like always having a meal bar with you, finding a healthy fast-food choice, choosing the healthiest meal at a diner, or keeping a healthy meal in the freezer.
  • You forgot your workout gear on a day when you only have a specific time to work out. Don’t waste that time; there are exercises you can perform at work during a break. If you need ideas, check out the Bit Fills exercises and stretches in the Health Info section of drchet.com.
  • How about slipping on the ice and dislocating your shoulder? That takes time to heal. Look for a piece of cardio equipment you can sit on, such as a recumbent bike at a fitness facility that doesn’t require a long-term commitment.

There are hundreds of things that interfere with your health goals. As you plan, think about what you will do if something comes up that interferes with your plan.

Be safe New Years Eve.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Anticipate Change

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Adapt. Innovate. Improvise. Overcome. That’s a group of words I put together years ago about how to respond when faced with challenges. The approach works in the present. When it comes to changes in health that are associated with aging, we don’t know exactly what they will be. Therefore, we must anticipate what might happen. I’ll give you some examples to consider.

Things to Consider

What we value the most is our independence. Still, your body will change; you may see changes in strength, balance, vision, joint health, mental acuity, or fitness. That doesn’t count any new conditions or diseases.

Should you continue to drive? That would be about the last thing I’d want to give up, but glaucoma may have a say in it. And reaction time declines with age. Which abilities can you work to improve? What alternatives can you prepare for?

Having a two-story home with a basement is great. Will you always have the capacity to go up and down the stairs to do laundry or to retrieve stored items? Would moving to a ranch home with everything on one level be a better choice?

Going up and down a ladder to clean gutters could become a problem. Heck, getting the extension ladder out of the garage could be an issue. Plan for gutter covers. That’s one change I made when I could do it myself. I could still clean them, but now I don’t need to.

What about cooking? Cleaning? Snow shoveling? Lawn maintenance? Anticipate what you really want to do yourself and what you’re willing to let someone else do.

Am I Just Giving Up?

Understand this. This is not about giving up; this is making a conscious decision to adapt to new circumstances. Your body is different from what it used to be.  Doesn’t matter whether you’re 40 now, or 50 or 60 or over 70—your body doesn’t have the same capabilities, and it will differ even more in 10, 20, or 50 years. You must adapt to it, or you’re going to end up frustrated all the time. Because believe me, you’re not going to be able to do everything that you used to do in the same way.

Anticipate the changes that may occur. If you start preparing for that now while you may not need it, you’ll be ready for it if you do. The choices of what you will and will not be able to do are going to be different for every person, but we can probably all stand to simplify our lives.

Anticipate. Innovate. Improvise. Adapt. And you will overcome.

The Bottom Line

There’s a new year on the horizon, so now is a good time to think about the changes I’ve talked about. Most of us are not good at anticipating what our bodies will do, but I can virtually guarantee one thing: the less body mass you have, the easier it will be to do everything. What you can do starting now is methodically get to a normal body weight for your height, stay active, and work on your strength and stamina. I’ll continue to provide you with research-based actions you can take to age with a vengeance. Nobody ever said you have to go quietly.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet