| My temples begin to throb and I can feel the panic | | | | The simple tasks of living take up more and more of |
| rising in my throat, as I sit in the classroom. The | | | | our time. Formal, effortful learning becomes an ever |
| minutes tick by and I still don't know what he's | | | | more distant memory. This really means that |
| talking about. I look around the class and everyone | | | | proactive, self- guided, healthy change becomes less |
| else seems calm. It's just me.I rifle through my | | | | and less likely. More of our time is spent passively |
| scribbled notes, race through sections of his handout, | | | | responding to our environment rather than actively |
| and burn holes through the diagram in the book. No | | | | remaking it.To age healthily, the most important thing |
| help; I'm getting more lost and desperate. Heart | | | | you can do is to not smoke cigarettes or drink too |
| pounding, my thoughts go NASCAR. I don't need this | | | | much alcohol. The second thing is to exercise |
| crap. It's Saturday and I should be with my family; or | | | | regularly. The third is to keep learning. Research has |
| giving a lecture; not sitting in the back of the room. I | | | | shown that our brains tend to shrink and our |
| feel stupid, out of control, and childish. A trickle of | | | | cognitive function to decline as we age. The |
| sweat runs down my back and finds my underwear. | | | | hardware of experience lies in the nerve cells of the |
| Great.As we age, hopefully we feel more mature. | | | | brain.Over time, brain cells decay and network |
| We gain wisdom from our experiences with the | | | | connections are broken. But, every time you learn |
| memories of decade's worth of success and failure | | | | something, a new connection, a new pathway is |
| to guide our decisions. We become a little less | | | | formed in the network of your brain. Some |
| freaked out by what other people think; a little more | | | | researchers believe that learning in older adulthood is |
| comfortable doing it our way. We settle into the | | | | the most important element in avoiding dementia or |
| familiar rhythms of our lives. If married with kids, we | | | | Alzheimer's disease. A learning brain is replacing |
| can view the drama and machinations of young, | | | | decaying neurons and broken memory connections |
| single adults with a mixture of amusement and | | | | with new ones, healthier ones. It's better than |
| condescension. And some of this sense of superiority | | | | Botox.You should be pushing the envelope and |
| is completely illusory.The truth is that most of us are | | | | testing the boundaries throughout your life. On page |
| simply a divorce or spousal death away from that | | | | 30 of my book, Stepping Stones: Ten Steps..., I |
| same drama. The rhythms of daily hassle become | | | | discussed the Mastery Map, a hierarchical list of |
| the glaze over life's uncertain, rough spots. Simple | | | | challenging, scary things that would be good for you |
| experience and the passage of time don't necessarily | | | | if you did them.On that list should be simple |
| make us wiser or healthier. Just older.I started a post | | | | learning:Sign up for a class.Find a new hobby.Subscribe |
| doctoral Master's of Science in Psychopharmacology | | | | to a magazine outside of your comfort zone.Go to a |
| last month and until spring we're studying | | | | museum, exhibit, or planetarium.Look through the |
| biochemistry. I haven't taken a class like this in over | | | | adult education catalogs you get in the mail.Read the |
| 20 years and I am stunned to feel the same old | | | | weekend, calendar section of the paper for coming |
| angst, confusion, and panic that I did back then. The | | | | events.Splash cold water on your face and stomp |
| difference is that back then, I had more energy, | | | | the feeling back into your brain.Give yourself |
| more time, and more motivation. I was kind of used | | | | permission to wonder, to experience fear and awe |
| to feeling confused and panicky.In our childhood, | | | | again.Do you remember why the sky is blue?It is 6:30 |
| teens, and 20s we are constantly confronted with | | | | a.m. Sunday morning and I just found out via e-mail |
| novel experiences and brand new learning. We're | | | | that I passed my first biochemistry test. The rusted, |
| reaching out, stretching the envelope, testing the | | | | creaking machinery of my brain feels a little better |
| boundaries. The challenge of uncertainty is around | | | | oiled. Maybe the next time you or I challenge |
| every corner; we still believe in our dreams.As we | | | | ourselves and feel that surge of fear rising, we'll |
| progress through adulthood, we orient ourselves | | | | know. I'm old enough to have purpose; and young |
| toward the familiar. Increasingly, we unconsciously | | | | enough to feel passion. |
| avoid novel situations that challenge or frighten us. | | | | |