We often ask the elderly what the secret is to a long life

My feeling is the secret’s out. There’s certainly a recipe to follow and part of that involves Mindfulness and Purpose.

It’s a curious thing to suggest that being present-moment focused can extend our lives. Why should this be? In what way can being present help us live longer?

When I ask these questions, I’m reminded of how damaging excessive levels of stress can be. In fact, when I first attempted to write this post, I wasn’t able to give it my full attention; there were far too many distractions today. As a result, I’ve wasted time going back and editing something that, if I’d remembered to practise what I preach, would have been completed much sooner.

Along with saving time, my stress levels would also have been much lower. The lesson, once again, is that by being mindful, we are much more likely to stop wasting our precious time, and we may live longer by leading lives with far less stress.

So now, from my own personal perspective, I feel that the ability to keep the mind present is something that is developed over time. If I want to live a long and healthy life, the importance of mindfulness is certainly something I’ll need to keep reminding myself of, over and over again.

Remembering how the regular practice of meditation improves my ability to concentrate and focus is crucial. My mental fitness can only be maintained by remembering.

Further reading on mindfulness and stress management can be found here

Add purpose to the recipe and we’re improving the odds even further

It’s easy to assume that when we talk about purpose, it needs to be something deep and meaningful. This need not necessarily be the case. Your purpose in life might be to collect stamps (philately). Perhaps your purpose in life is to see something you consider beautiful every day and to then see it mindfully (deeply). I like that one a lot.

Mindfully seeing something beautiful certainly has stress‑reducing qualities, does it not?

There is no need for our purpose to be grand or something that gains the attention of others. Purpose has great value in that it gives us a reason to live. When we have good reason to live, who knows how long it can sustain us?