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Survival of the Fittest
The term “ageless vitality” has taken on a whole new meaning for me since this spring, when my 76-year-old father’s lifelong dedication to health and fitness may very well have saved his life.
Put Time on Your Side
The call to start working on my letter for this “Feel Great at Any Age” issue came at the perfect moment: It just happened to be my 45th birthday. Fact is, if you had asked me when I was 20 what 45 was going to look and feel like, I’m not sure I’d have been able to tell you.
Wild Child
One summer, when I was about 8 years old, a lovely young woman named Jennifer came to spend a month or so on the farm where I grew up. Jennifer, who must have been the friend of a family friend, was a mysterious creature.
Unexplored Territory
Late spring is my favorite time of year. There’s something inspiring about seeing so many living things crank into the high gears of their growth cycles.
One Loop at a Time
There was a time, not so very long ago, when I was less healthy than I am today. And I hope, looking back five years from now, that I can say the same thing.
Growth Management
In business, there’s a concept known as the “Peter Principle” that describes how individuals within an organization tend to be promoted through the ranks until they rise to their level of incompetence.
The Whole Truth
Call me radical, but given the ragged state of health and fitness in our country, I think it’s about time we started seeking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about what really makes for a healthy way of life. It’s also high time we all started saying “no thanks” to the hype.
Connect and Respect
We tend to think of cause and effect as a simple, two-part thing: A particular action results in a particular reaction, period. And perhaps in some controlled experiments, that’s true. But in life, most reactions are complex and cyclical chain reactions, because in life, most everything is connected.
Stand Up for Your Cells
We’ve known for a long time that spending too much time and energy at work can cost us. We’ve all seen hardworking friends disappear off the social radar while in hot pursuit of career success, and many of us have risked becoming strangers to our own families as the result of work demands that made no space for weekends and evenings at home.
Yes, You Can
Health is all the rage in business these days. Which is to say that many companies are actively promoting healthier employee lifestyles. Or at least they’re trying.
In Praise of Picky Eating
You know that restaurant scene in When Harry Met Sally? No, not that scene. I mean the part where Sally orders her food prepared to minute specifications. I’m starting to do that. I suspect a lot of us are.
Choosing to Choose
There’s a biology term – “circular mill” – that describes how a group of army ants, if separated from their colony, can wind up marching in an enormous circle, each ant perpetually following the ant in front of it.
Getting to Yes
Four years ago, I got a call that changed my life. It was an invitation to edit this magazine. And, initially, I said no.
Personal Best
Back when I was in college, my schoolwork came pretty easily to me, and like most young men, I thought I had life all figured out.
Love It Like It Is
Editors are, as a group, given to tinkering. It’s part of what makes us good at what we do, and in many ways, an inherent aspect of who we are.
A Simpler Way
This fall, in the wake of what seemed like a relentless series of hurricanes and earthquakes, something hopeful rose out of all the chaos: our compassion – and with it, perhaps, a clarified sense of perspective.
Under the Microscope
I don’t think anyone would have predicted that I would grow up to be a science geek. I was a dyed-in-the-wool English major pretty much from the time I could read.
Bridging the Knowledge Gap
That old saying knowledge is power has always rung true with me, particularly when it comes to matters of personal health.
Learning by Example
Do as I say, not as I do. Anyone whose parents ever tried that line on them knows just how ineffective such directives are likely to be at inspiring good behavior. Kids learn best by example. And, in fact, so do must adults.
Reflections
One morning a couple of weeks back, I was running by a big plate-glass window in my neighborhood, and something novel happened.
Sizing Up Satisfaction
This issue’s Satisfaction theme immediately brought to mind my favorite film, Fiddler on the Roof .