Healthy Ageing expert Mark Mckeon explores the phenomenon of Grumpy Old Man Syndrome. What causes it, how you can stop being grumpy and improve your quality of life…Are you guilty of being a grumpy old man?
It’s ironic that when some Aussie men finally have the time and resources to enjoy themselves more, they no longer have the physical capacity or energy to do it.
From our mid twenties we tend to lose about 1% of testosterone level each year, so by the time we reach 50 we can be 25% down. This doesn’t only mean the ‘guns’’ get smaller and the skin thinner; it can adversely affect our mood because elevated mood is part of testosterone’s role.
I’d like to offer some simple observations for men from the age of 30 who want to live life to the fullest now and for decades to come.
Firstly, the right choices today can have positive impact for the next 20 years, so the advice below is relevant to men of all ages.
Everything starts with the physical. When I was a High Performance Coach at Collingwood AFL Club, I always told my players that he best way to a strong mental preparation is a strong physical preparation.
Exercise boosts testosterone, especially strength training so get to the gym or get hold off some resistance bands (thick rubber bands) and invest 30 minutes every second or third day. It doesn’t have to be overly sophisticated, just work your muscles to keep strong and keep the testosterone flowing
Many Australian men suffer from poor mental health. Beyond Blue believes 1 in 5 Australians suffer some form of mental health issue each year and there are currently 1 million Australians with Depression and 2 million with anxiety.
In addition to the drop in testosterone, I am convinced that many of the emotional problems faced by way too many middle aged men stems from them slipping a few rungs down the ladder of their physical capability, not being quite as needed by their grown up children and feeling like the best parts of their careers are behind them. Many of us find it really difficult to talk about and deal with this next life stage?
Our ‘mere male’ ego is quite fragile and emotional issues are just one small step away from relationship issues. The fallout from relationship issues spreads like wildfire and is crippling to society.
One thing that can really help is to do a 1-hour, ‘Go Zone’ every day. In a Go Zone, you concentrate as much as you can and really focus on the task at hand. It could be paid work, a puzzle, metal or woodwork or even watching a movie. A high level of concentration boosts testosterone and elevates mood; it’s why we can feel good after being engrossed in a movie or book.
We’ve learned through Healthy Ageing Studies that what we are doing now has impact for the next 20 years. Doing at least 30 minutes of activity every 48 hours helps keep your body young and your mind thinking positive thoughts.
Secondly, we have to control our egos. Ultimately a happy life is finding peace of mind and that includes being grateful if you can and not too hard on ourselves
Finally, you’ve probably heard of the saying’ it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey’. Someone plagiarised that from the 16th Century Spanish Writer Cervantes who said, ‘the journey is better than the Inn’…in other words, just do the best you can today.
Cervantes is the Author of Don Quixote, still the most famous piece of Spanish Literature of all time, but he didn’t start work on it until he was 55 years of age. If doing the best you can ever day is good enough for Cervantes, it’s good enough for us.
Regardless of whether you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s or 60s, it is possible to put the hard yards in to improve your quality of life. The physical and the mental feed each other. It’s all about just doing the best you can today!
ABOUT
Mark Mckeon is a Peak Performance Coach and Author of 4 books. He spent 15 years as an AFL High Performance Coach and is a member of Collingwood’s Hall of Fame. Mark now specialises in helping people age well.
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