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Our Slow Decay
As we age, our bodies change. We lose muscle and mobility, even if we’re healthy.
It creeps up on us, and before we know it, we’re feeling old. Then, it’s much harder or impossible to reverse.
As my 50th birthday approaches, I’ve been more concerned about this.
To combat muscle decay, we must incorporate regular strength and mobility training.
I now have heavy dumbbells, a weight bench, and a simple 30-minute, twice-weekly routine.
The most challenging part is incorporating this into my life so that it’s a habit I don’t force myself to do, but feel uncomfortable when I don’t.
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Finding the right time to exercise
One of my resolutions for 2025 is to exercise more. At a bare minimum, I aim to get a quick cycle in or walk at my desk (treadmill) for a while. I have the equipment, but I failed miserably in 2024.
Perhaps the reason for this failure is that I either scheduled my workouts first thing in the morning or late in the day, after work.
I find that in the early mornings, I don’t want to get out of bed, and when I’m finally ready, my mind is already working, writing, or occupied with some activity that I want to start right away. So, I tend to skip the workout, telling myself I’ll do it in the evening.
In the evenings, more often than not, I just keep busy with something right through my scheduled workout. Then, I’m exhausted and tell myself, “I’ll exercise in the morning.”
Over the past few days, I’ve tried a new technique. Mid-afternoon, when I start to get tired and still have things I want to accomplish, my brain begins to slow down. This seems to be the perfect time to get some exercise.
Forty-five minutes on the bike, and my blood is flowing, and my focus is back.
I’m fortunate enough to work from home and have a fairly flexible schedule that allows this mid-day break. If I have meetings, I can place the walking treadmill under my desk and at least get some steps in.
When I exercise regularly, I tend to eat better, sleep better, and feel better overall. No surprise.
I’m also hoping that talking about it motivates me to exercise more. I’m at the age where I need to do this NOW, or it will be too late.
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Losing the ability to read and think deeply
I’m losing my ability to read deeply and understand what I’m reading, and I’m not the only one.
I used to read for hours, fully immersed. I’d put the book down and still think about it, processing and connecting it for a deeper understanding and recall.
Today, we’re consumed by digital email, chats, TikTok, social media, short blogs, video clips, and other quick consumption forms. The content is designed to keep us engaged.
There must be a connection between today’s consumption and the ability to read and think critically.
Today, I struggle to read a book with information I want to understand. My mind jumps to other things. I can’t focus enough to comprehend what I read. I even read the prior text and don’t recall it. I have to read a paragraph repeatedly to understand it.
The book is too difficult to read because it requires more direct attention, unlike other material I consume. My mind isn’t wired for the focus I need.
This is troubling.
Oddly enough, it doesn’t apply to everything. I often become fully engaged when writing code and building software solutions. It may take a few minutes to get going, but once I do, I’m so engrossed in my work that I need someone to shake my shoulder to get my attention.
Do the books need to be more attractive to grab my attention like coding? Is it because I’m creating and not consuming when I’m coding?
Today’s books are written differently. Old books are denser, with complicated words, paragraphs, and less fluff. Today’s books are straightforward, full of short stories, and skim the material’s surface to maintain reader interest.
If I had the abilities in the past and slowly lost them, they could be reversed. Right?
My next steps sound simple but will be challenging to execute. Reduce the short, mind-numbing consumption and replace it with more time with evergreen material that encourages me to slow down and think. This should help rebuild the muscle of deep reading and thinking.
What does this problem mean for my children? How will they solve the world’s problems if they can’t focus for more than 20 minutes?
