Yakovlev's age of happiness. What is your lucky age? How long does the stable state last?
Vladimir Yakovlev, founder of the Kommersant publishing house and the Snob project, journalist, photographer, author of the Age of Happiness project.
"Michelangelo began work on the famous Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel when he was 61 years old. Min Bahadur Sherchan set a world record by making his first ascent of Everest a few days before his 77th birthday. Architect Frank Wright began building his the famous Guggenheim Museum in the center of New York when he was 76. The work took him 16 years.
I became interested in this topic largely thanks to my mother. She is already much more than seventy years old, but she lives very actively, and I noticed that the quality of her life, her attitude towards the world is beyond last years improved. I realized how important it is to combine the experiences of older people who have a vibrant sense of life and do what they love."
From Vladimir Yakovlev's blog
It all started when I met a woman who could stand on her hands for forty minutes without much strain. She did yoga and didn't consider handstands a big accomplishment. Perhaps I wouldn’t have counted either if she hadn’t been well over seventy.
Then I thought: why are some at this age able to do things that many young people cannot do, while for others the time after 60 or 70 years is a period of slow decline?
I started traveling around the world, meeting the most different people who, despite their age, live full, active, healthy and interesting life. I photographed them, listened to their stories and tried to understand what their secret was.
I must say that at first my attitude towards age after 60 was not very different from the generally accepted one. I, like everyone else, treated it as a period of inevitable degradation. And, like most of our contemporaries, there was a fear of this age in me.
But communicating with dozens of people in the most different countries, I realized how much I was wrong and how misguided people are about this modern society. I realized that age after 60 years is not a death sentence, but potentially the happiest period human life. This is an age that, without exaggeration, can be the age of happiness.
I don't really believe in longevity. Longevity is something you only realize in retrospect. You look back and scratch your head: wow, how long have I lived? Somehow this doesn't make much sense. I've already lived. What is more important is how you lived these years. More important is the quality of life. The opportunity to enjoy it. It is believed that after 60-65 there are no such opportunities. It is not true.
During my travels, I met dozens of people who live bright and rich lives at 70, 80, 90 years old, and are in such physical shape that young people can envy.
And the secret of their abilities is not at all in genetic predisposition.
I was amazed at how similar these people were in their approaches to nutrition, physical practices and, most importantly, their philosophy of life. They coincide - despite the fact that they live in different countries, they belong to different cultures and never heard of each other. I wanted to find something in common between them, but I didn’t imagine that there would be so much in common.
Today it is even difficult for me to say to what extent the cause of age-related degradation is age itself and to what extent - the stereotypes of our understanding of it.
About the book
What helps you jump with a parachute when you’re approaching seventy, or perform professional ballet roles on stage when you’re ninety-two?
How to become a rock star at eighty-five and run a marathon at one hundred years old?
In search of answers to these questions, journalist and photographer Vladimir Yakovlev traveled around the world, photographing and collecting stories of people who, in old age, continue to lead active, independent and fulfilling lives.
The photo album “The Age of Happiness” contains the most striking of these stories. The author met their heroes in Russia, China, the USA, France, Great Britain, and Denmark. All of them are healthy, full of strength and well past 60, 70, 80 and even 100 years old (!), they managed to maintain the fullness of life and the ability to enjoy every day they live.
The photo album “The Age of Happiness” is not just a book. This is part of a large and important project. Over two years of travel, Vladimir Yakovlev found out that the vast majority of those who live happily ever after - in different countries of the world, without agreement or communication with each other - use extremely similar methods to maintain health and activity.
To make these methods and stories of those who found happiness after sixty publicly available - the main task project.
Who is this book for?
⇒Those who are now 60-70-80 and who think that the most best time left behind.
⇒Those who are now 50 and who want to know what is beyond 65.
⇒Those whose parents are now 60-70-80 and who want to give them the impetus to live fuller and brighter.
From book
Robert Marchand. France. 100 years.
“No matter how old you are, move.”
Robert Marchand celebrated his centenary on the cycling track. On his birthday, he drove 23.2 kilometers in 60 minutes. And three months later he broke his own record - he covered 24.25 kilometers in an hour and didn’t even get out of breath. “I could have gone faster,” admitted Robert, having completed the distance. “But I didn’t want to slow down my pulse.”
Gao Mingyuan, 67 years old.
The person is super flexible.
Gao Mingyuan does not do the splits. He falls on him. That is, he lifts his leg vertically, wraps his arms around it, and falls. And he still smiles at the same time. It seems that this is impossible. It looks like he should be in pain. It seems that this is impossible for a person when he is nearly seventy, but he started playing sports for the first time at sixty. But it only seems so.
At sixty, Gao Mingyuan was really in pain. Most During his life he worked at a steel mill, when his working career came to an end, he left the factory a veteran with almost everything hurting.
By chance he came across a book called “Stretch marks add 10 years to your life.” Cun is a Chinese measure of length (3.3 centimeters), and the book explained how, at any age, you can achieve real health through stretching exercises. She made such an impression on Mingyuan that he immediately began studying, consulting the book.
“The Age of Happiness” is a project that, contrary to traditional ideas, life after 50 does not necessarily have to decline.
On the contrary, in modern world The age after 50 becomes the peak of human life, the time when you can get maximum pleasure from life.
You have this opportunity too, you just need to know how to use it. Whatever you dream of - finding your calling, improving your personal life, finally sorting out money, getting rid of excess weight, begin new career, gain health - all this is absolutely possible no matter how old you are.
Life after 50 can be not only no worse, but even better than in youth. The meaning of the project can be conveyed in one simple formula:
Age ≠ Old age
The project started at the end of 2012 with the publication of the book “The Age of Happiness.”
Thao Poshon-Lynch - 94 years old. One of the oldest yoga teachers in the world - her experience in yoga is more than 85 years.
Andrey Chirkov, who started running only at 52, ran 70 km on his 70th birthday, also ran several ultra-marathons (covered a distance of 490 km in 7 days), as well as a marathon at the North Pole
Fauja Singh ran the London Marathon at 101
Doris Long at the age of 98, he continues to be interested in industrial mountaineering, descending from 70-meter buildings, and does not intend to stop his activities until at least 100 years old
Grace Cook, 88 years old, rock star. Started performing at age 83
John Lowe, 92 years old. Since the age of 80 he has been practicing ballet and performing on the professional stage.
Alexander Rosenthal, despite the age of 96 years, regularly, 3 times a week, rides alpine skiing
Yvon Doulin at 86 years old he is engaged professionally figure skating, performs jumps and sheepskin coats
Marina Voikhanskaya at the age of 77, she went on a bicycle trip, cycling for 10 days from Cambridge in England to an estate near Paris
Hedda Bolgar from the USA, a famous psychotherapist, at the age of 103 sees patients, and also regularly attends professional conferences and gives lectures
All these people are united by the desire to live happily; in addition, they all lead an active lifestyle, and do it on a regular basis - some devote hours to training, others limit themselves to a half-hour walk, the main thing is that they do not sit in front of the TV or on a bench near the house with seeds.
They all have the happiest and most active period of life, with a positive outlook on all events that occur. Anyone who, having retired, gives up, believes that his “song is done”, in fact, misses such a wonderful period of life when you can completely devote time to yourself, and live the way you want, without looking back at those around you, who, of course, can initially decide that the old man has gone crazy in his old age, saying gray hair in his beard, demon in his rib
It doesn’t matter to them, they all greet every new day with a smile, while they accept life as it is and are ready for any result, but this does not stop them at a particular moment, and they all continue to do what they do, what brings them happiness without dwelling on the past
The stories are really full of life, energy, positive, and bright photos characters doing their favorite pastime only confirms Vladimir Yakovlev’s idea that you can be happy at any age; the number of years does not at all affect the ability to be happy. The author also proves that climatic conditions and the place of birth is not at all the main thing - the heroes of the book live in the Russian outback in Siberia, America, Great Britain, India, etc.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe in the records that these people set (it’s hard to call them old people). Indeed, the impossible turns out to be possible and it doesn’t matter how many wrinkles and sores you have
If there Vital energy, fuse, then everything will work out, it’s never too late to get interested in a new sport or learn a new profession
This book is a wonderful gift for parents; the book will certainly give them a new, lively impulse and give them inspiration not just to live, but to live happily and interestingly.
For your grandparents, who think that a happy life is behind them, it will give hope and arouse the desire to believe in themselves and live a full life, and for young people, it will undoubtedly charge them with positive energy (tested on themselves), and will reveal the secrets of longevity and happy life.
Video with Vladimir Yakovlev
The book is about how to start playing sports at the age of 56 and acquire an athlete’s figure. At 66, run 40 kilometers every day. At 72, cross Russia on a bicycle. Celebrate your 80th birthday by completing 80 skydives in a row.
All these are not fictional, but very real stories.
There is a stereotype that after 50-60 years there is no point in taking care of yourself. It is not true. And excellent health, and beautiful body It’s quite possible to maintain well beyond 50.
The only thing that changes with age is that after 50 our health depends entirely on ourselves, on our personal choice whether we want to remain healthy or not.
Most of the characters in this book began to engage in sports and physical practices when they were well over 50.
Their stories perfectly prove the validity of a simple formula:
Age ≠ old age
This book is for those who want to live happily ever after.
The book contains thirty real examples of how health does not necessarily get worse with age. Sometimes it's better than before.
"Over the past few years, I have met dozens of people who are living happily ever after in excellent health. When I set out on my journey, I wanted to understand what all these people had in common. And - with great surprise - I discovered that main secret a fun, healthy and happy life after 50 is not at all physical activities or special diets. In my opinion, their main secret is special style life, which, strictly speaking, can be adhered to without waiting 50 or 60 years. It’s just that by this age many people have accumulated enough experience to find a way to be healthy and happy through trial and error. The essence of this lifestyle is not to build endless imaginary alternative scenarios events that happen to us and not produce endless “could have been...”, “if it had been”, “it’s a pity that it’s not” and “it would have been more correct”. Instead, we should try to get maximum pleasure from what we have here and now.
There is an already outdated, but still half-living stereotype that after 50 there is no point in taking special care of yourself, since health will still deteriorate with age. It is not true. Health and a beautiful body can be maintained well beyond 50. It’s simple and you need to approach it according to the same principle - without imaginary alternative scenarios, without self-justification and without references to external factors. After 50, our health depends entirely on ourselves. Or, more precisely, from our personal choice to be healthy or not, regardless of whether we make this choice consciously or unconsciously. It's simple. Or you take care of yourself, health, and physical practices for an hour a day, as the heroes of this book do. Or you are sick.
One of the heroes of this book, 93-year-old Charles Eugster, who began taking care of his health at 60 and is now in excellent shape at 93, once told me that we have confused disease and the aging process. Now I completely agree with him. Age does not necessarily mean illness."
What is the book “Wanted and Could” about?
Enroll in acting school at 69 and at 79 to conquer Hollywood. Get rid of excess weight and get into perfect shape physical fitness at 58. Become a financial broker at 75 and earn a million. Start a successful sports career at 60. Become a model at 82...
This book contains amazing stories women who are by example proved that it is possible to realize your dreams at any age. And yet this book is not only for those who are over fifty today.
Stories of people who found happiness at the age of 60 or 70 involuntarily make us remember those who are unhappy at 30, 40 or 20.
Of course, after 50 comes potentially the brightest and happiest period of our lives. But still, I would like those who have not yet reached this amazing time of life to read this book and say to themselves:
“If it’s possible at 60, then it’s possible at 30!”
This book is for those women who feel like they can’t get out of a rut.
And for those who are ready for change, but do not dare to take a step into the new.
There are three dozen in the book true stories women who, having crossed the 50-year mark (which is considered the threshold of old age), refused to follow social stereotypes, changed their lifestyle and are now completely happy. This is a real vaccination against old age - not physical, but mental.
"A monstrous mistake of many modern women is that they have absolutely no plans to enjoy life after 50 years. Many are sure that a woman’s life noticeably deteriorates by the age of 30, and by the age of 50 it is completely over, and the remaining time (and these are decades!) one must simply live out quietly.
In fact, this is complete absurdity, and after 50 you can safely realize your dreams, whatever they may be. This book contains stories about how to do this. For example, there is a story about a successful metal sculptor, Rochelle Ford. She first picked up tools when she was 58. She just wanted to “tinker with hardware” all her life.
Or, for example, the story of Evgenia Stepanova, who began her sports career at the age of 60. And now a multiple world and European champion in diving. It’s a difficult sport, dangerous, but Stepanova absolutely loves it.
It doesn’t matter how unusual the activity that leads to the fulfillment of a dream seems. For example, Sylvia Weinstock worked all her life school teacher and only started baking cakes at the age of 51. Today she is - without any exaggeration - one of the most famous and highly paid confectioners in the world. Yes, for this she had to work hard for more than 30 years in a row. But she is pleased with the result and very happy.
It's never too late to dream and it's never too late to make your dream come true. As one of the heroines of this book, Patricia Gorg, who fulfilled her dream at the age of 61, says, “Do what you like. There will be people who will say that you are crazy. It’s okay, these people are just jealous of you.” "
“When I’m as old as you, I won’t need anything anymore,” my son told me when he was 15 and I was 35 years old. The same phrase could be uttered by a 70-year-old child to a 95-year-old parent. Nevertheless, both at 95 and 75 years old people need the same things as at 35. Once a 96-year-old patient said, slightly blushing: “You know, doctor, the soul does not age.”
The main question, of course, is how we see older people. 30–40 years ago, when a person retired, he was erased from life. He became a burden with whom no one knew what to do, and he himself did not know what to do with himself. And it seemed that at that age no one needed anything anymore. But in fact, old age is very interesting times. Happy. There are a lot of studies that confirm that people 60–90 years old feel happier than younger people. Psychotherapist Carl Whitaker, when he was already over 70, noted: “ Average age– a tiring hard marathon, elderly age– the enjoyment of a good dance: the knees may bend less well, but the tempo and beauty are natural and unforced.” Obviously, older people have lower and more sober expectations, and there is also a feeling of freedom: we owe nothing to anyone and are not afraid of anything. I appreciated this myself. I retired (and continue to work as I worked - a lot), however consolation prize I get it for my age. You can’t live on this money, you can survive on it, but when I received it for the first time, I caught myself with an amazing feeling - now I can give up on everything. Life has become different - freer, easier. Old age generally allows you to pay more attention to yourself, do what you want and what you never got around to doing before, and appreciate every minute like that - there’s not much time left.
Underwater rocks
Another thing is that old age has its own problems. I remember my childhood - it was the time of birthdays, and now I live in the time of funerals - losses, losses, losses. This is very difficult even with my professional security. In old age, the problem of loneliness and need for oneself is heard more than ever... No matter how much parents and children love each other, old people have their own questions: how to buy a place in the cemetery, how to organize a funeral, how to die... It’s painful for children to listen to this, they defend themselves: “Give it up.” “Mom, you will live to be a hundred years old!” Nobody wants to hear about death. I often hear from patients: “I can only talk about this with you, no one else.” We calmly discuss death, joke about it, prepare for it.
Another problem of old age is occupation and communication. I worked a lot at a day center for the elderly (in the USA - editor's note) and saw people there whom I had met before. Then they had nowhere to put themselves, and they sat at home all day long, sick, half-extinguished, with a bunch of symptoms... A day center appeared, and they became completely different: they are drawn there, they can do something there, they are someone they are needed there, they can talk and quarrel with each other - and this is life! They felt that they needed themselves, each other, they had plans and worries for tomorrow, and it’s simple - they need to get dressed, not to go in a robe... The way a person lives his last segment is very important. What kind of old age – helpless or active? I remember my strongest impressions from being abroad, in Hungary in 1988 - children and old people. Children whom no one drags by the hand or threatens to hand over to the police. And the old people - well-groomed, clean, sitting in a cafe... This picture was so different from what I saw in Russia...
Age and psychotherapy
A psychotherapist can become a channel for an older person active life. You can talk to him about everything, in addition, he also helps. One of my patients was 86 years old and had difficulty walking. To help him get to my office, I picked him up, on the way we chatted about something, then we worked, and I took him home. And this was a whole event in his life. I remember another patient of mine with Parkinson’s disease. It would seem, what does psychotherapy have to do with it? When we met, she could not get up from the chair on her own, could not throw a jacket on herself, and with the support of her husband, she somehow climbed onto the bench. She had never been anywhere, sometimes the children carried her into the car in their arms and took her away... We started working with her and six months later we walked around the huge house arm in arm: when we walked a full circle for the first time, it was a victory. We walked 2-3 laps and did therapy along the way. And then she and her husband went to their homeland, Odessa, and when she returned, she said that for the first time in her life she tried... vodka. She was cold and wanted to warm up: “I never thought it would be so good.”
Even seriously ill people have enormous potential; the soul can do a lot. Psychotherapy at any age helps a person cope with life. Not to defeat it, not to change it, but to cope with what is. And there is everything in it - nastiness, dirt, pain, beautiful things... We can discover in ourselves the opportunity not to look at all this from only one side. This is not “hut, hut, stand with your back to the forest, but with your front to me.” In psychotherapy, a person chooses himself and musters the courage to see her with different sides. You can’t drink life in glasses anymore, as you did in your youth – and it’s not even appealing. One sip at a time, slowly, tasting every sip.”
“The Age of Happiness” is the name of a book of photographs and texts that has just been released. Readers will see it too: the book is about the fact that the final third of human life can become the most meaningful, joyful, and perfect. Living without aging is a new global trend. About this with the author of the project, founder of Kommersant, Stolitsa and Snob, now a pursuer of the meaning of life after fifty, Vladimir YAKOVLEV.
“The Age of Happiness” is the title of a book of photographs and texts that has just been released. Readers will also see it: the book is about the fact that the final third of human life can become the most meaningful, joyful, perfect. Living without aging is a new global trend. About this - with the author of the project, founder of Kommersant, Stolitsa and Snob, now a pursuer of the meaning of life after fifty, Vladimir YAKOVLEV.
— You have never been associated with humanitarian projects. Something happened in personal experience?
- Yes! I started to get old. And I needed to understand how you can influence what happens to you after 60 years. How you age is entirely up to you. This is the whole idea of the project.
- What does “I began to grow old” mean?
— It’s just that when I turned 50, I began to be afraid. Old age, generally speaking, can be scary: sick, unhappy, lonely. Given the amount of prejudice that exists in society against the elderly, this fear is completely justified. Now there are 600 million people in the world between the ages of 50 and 60. And almost all of them live with the stereotypes on which they were raised. Especially in our country. Yes, all my life I was convinced that after 50 there is no life. I've been a gerontophobe all my life. I just didn’t realize it before.
— And having realized it, you set off in search of the late formula of happiness?
- This is not the only issue. I've always worked with trends, loved trends, felt trends, and in the end it's all about working with trends. Because the world is changing. In 20 years, a moment will come that has never happened in the history of mankind. The number of people over 60 will exceed the number of children under 15. The gap is widening all the time.
In Los Angeles I met with a famous psychoanalyst, she sees 25 patients a week, and she is 104 years old. When she turned 50, she was not yet halfway through her life. Now humanity has a huge additional piece of life.
— Some kind of post-age?
- No, not post-age - the next stage of development. We still didn’t really know why this age was needed. It was clear that until 30 - study. Up to 50 - social self-realization. And then - what to catch? The global trend is the search for goals; searching for what this age is about, how you can live in it and have fun.
— And it turned out that it is possible to influence?
- In general, yes. There are Russians, Americans, Europeans, Chinese, Indians in the book. They live without knowing each other, but have a lot in common.
- What exactly?
“These people refused to grow old as they should.” And instead of starting to slowly die, they simply continued to live. And the limits of this are almost limitless.
There are 40 stories in the book, in fact there are many more. There is a woman who, at the age of 71, began to engage in show business, stand-up comedy. And it is extremely popular. Another became a DJ at 68, today she is 78, she is one of the most famous DJs in the world, she can hold a crowd of 5 thousand people. There is a dancer: he began to study ballet at the age of 80, now he is 92, and he dances on the professional stage. There is a 90-year-old extreme sports enthusiast who rappels down the facades of 70-meter buildings. There is a skier who, at 76 years old, runs a 10-kilometer ski distance 9 minutes slower than the 26-year-old world champion. If you travel and meet these people, it turns out that what is possible after 60 has nothing to do with the perception of this age.
— I also have such a person in my family, Boris Alekseev, a philosopher, teacher at St. Petersburg University, who is 80 years old, he rides a bicycle and skis 50-100 kilometers a day.
“Everyone I talked to about the project has at least one such person around me. But we all consider this an exception. We have no idea how real this is.
— Apparently, one of the main components of these happy stories- will?
- I do not think so. Yes, of course, you take care of your health every day: after 60, it really depends on you. You either do something for him or you suffer. What is more important is that our heroes found the courage to abandon stereotypes.
Ruth Flowers was 68 years old when her husband died, they had a house, they had money, she could follow the stereotypes of a wealthy widow, living in the past. To want to become a DJ without any experience, to go study... I don’t know what is needed for this. Not will. Probably the ability to enjoy life.
— This phrase is repeated many times in the book - “enjoy life.” Do you think this is the most important thing? It looks like this is a book by an atheist - a person who denies a higher principle...
-Are you talking about me?! I am very religious person! I am a Buddhist and a very religious person! It just seems to me that the age after 60 is the age of personal happiness.
- What, exactly, do you know about happiness?
— Well, there is a rather specific definition: the absence of a contradiction between internal expectations and external reality. This is the harmony of the inner and outer world.
“Know the truth and it will make you free,” says the Gospel. You have learned something. Has it made you freer?
- Perhaps. When you communicate with these people, you understand: they have a different value system in relation to what is important and what is not important. And I somehow inhaled this from them.
These people have no competitiveness at all. Envy, ambition. Because this is also the creation of alternative scenarios. They know how to enjoy life under given circumstances.
— The word “pleasure” confuses me. It seems to exclude the complexity of the human structure. On the one hand, all these stories are a challenge to the inertia of existence, and on the other hand, man is more complex, more metaphysical than you describe...
— One of the characters that struck me was a Russian who left for America. His life can be described in two ways. He lives in a tiny apartment. He has practically no money, he cannot be sure of the future. Or it can be the way he feels it: a wonderful free apartment, surrounded by friends, women whom he loves and who love him. He doesn’t even have to work, because he is paid an allowance that is enough for him - $700 a month. And he's happy. He's riding his windsurf, the oldest I've ever seen. This is a description of the same existence. He says that once, at the age of 15, he was a Suvorov veteran. He is now 75 and has spent all these years moving from one principle of life to another. He started like Chkalov, whose motto was: “If there is to be, then to be the first.” And now he lives without competing with anyone and simply enjoying life. Do you think it's simple or difficult?
I was once sitting at their house, they fed me something. And I noticed the unusual pie and asked: “Listen, you are probably vegetarians?”
And he said: “No, what are you talking about! We just eat like vegetarians!” For me, this is where all the simplicity and complexity lies.
— Perhaps this project for you is the same as going down a wall, running a distance, doing scientific discoveries- that is, to feel the age of happiness?
- Certainly! It makes me happy. And besides, this thing can help a lot - both those who are now 80 and those who are 50. And before, I had no idea about the people I met. If you had told me three years ago that this was possible, I would never have believed it.
— Summing up, you mention the importance of “relaxation” - what does this actually mean?
- Yes, this is one of them common features. There is a set of effective healing techniques. They are all based on physical relaxation, this gives health - physical relaxation and relaxation as a lifestyle. Essentially, acceptance is a way of life.
— Do these people screen out the tragic reality that surrounds us?
- This is not a question of shielding. They simply don't create imaginary alternative scenarios. When any of us has a problem in life, we create in our heads a scenario of how it should have been if everything was correct, and we correlate this scenario created by our imagination with reality. They don't do this.
- Do they turn off their imagination?
- It's a matter of lifestyle. They simply accept life as it comes. Accept external reality. There is a man there, Michel Fournier, who wanted all his life to make the highest parachute jump. This jump costs 20 million euros. He has been preparing for the jump for the last 20 years. I looked for sponsors and trained. And not so long ago, two months ago, such a jump was made. He didn't do it. He is late. And when I called him (we were very afraid - of his shock, disappointment), he said: “I will climb even higher than this guy and jump!” He didn't have any hair pulled out. They live like this...
— I can imagine quite well what your father, Yegor Vladimirovich Yakovlev, would say about this project (I don’t dare to quote it verbatim), but what did Irina Aleksandrovna Bulgakova, to whom the book is dedicated, say?
- Mom liked it. She herself, to a certain extent, belongs to this type of person.
— As for the development of the project, there is also an interesting business side. There is a giant industry for every age: films, clothing, services. And at 60 everything stops. There is no music - you have to listen to the old one. There are no books - you have to re-read the previous ones, no films, no clothes. There are no places where you can go to do health practices. There are no courses where languages are taught using special methods. Nothing! A giant empty market. And a person after 60, as it turns out, continues to live and develop. But in the last 15 years, special Scientific research. And it turned out that the problems that we thought were related to age are actually related to limitations in consciousness.
It turned out that the ability to learn after 60 is higher than that of young people. Provided that techniques are used that are intended for the brain, which is at this stage of development, and not techniques for people 17 years old. It turned out that people after 60 years learn faster and better foreign languages. What innovative abilities They are also higher. There is an American woman, she wrote novels all her life, nothing worked for her, and suddenly at the age of 70 she wrote a novel that became incredibly popular. It's called "The Viagra Diaries": about sex and romantic life after 70 and 60 years. HBO is now launching a series based on this novel, and it is being made by the same producer who made Sex in big city" That is, now this is probably the largest market potential and the most capacious. But besides everything else, it is also wildly interesting. Because we are talking about 30-40 years of life that you can live being happy.
— And Vladimir Yakovlev of December 2012 is different from Vladimir Yakovlev of the period of “Kommersant” or the same “Snob”?
- No, of course, the same one! People change all the time - and remain the same. But it seems to me that we are all gradually getting rid of our fears. I managed to get rid of some of them. From some, no. For example, I am still afraid of flying on an airplane.
- So should we start skydiving?
- It may very well be!
I have just read Vladimir Yakovlev’s project book “The Age of Happiness. What do those who live happily ever after have in common.” The book is very interesting and motivating. It presents descriptions of the lives of happy older people, their photographs, thoughts and advice, as well as the results of various studies on the causes of health and longevity.
Here are just some of the characters in the book:
- Andrey Chirkov, 72 years old, marathon runner. At the age of 70, he completed a 70-km run, and later ran 490 km in 7 days.
- Grace Cook, 88, rock star. She started performing at the age of 83.
- Buster Martin, 104, drummer in the band. In 101, he ran a 40-kilometer marathon, and a little later became a drummer in a rock band.
- Lynn Ruth Miller, 79, comedian. She started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 70.
- John Lowe, 92 years old. Since the age of 80, he has been practicing ballet and performing on the professional stage.
- Alexander Rosenthal, 96 years old. Skiing 3 times a week.
- Igor Goldman, 78 years old, weightlifter. Sets world records in the barbell press, started training at 65.
- Yvon Doulin, 86, is a figure skater.
- Thao Poshon-Lynch, 94, is a dancer. She has been dancing since she was 84 years old, she started with tango, samba, cha-cha-cha, and now ballroom dancing.
The book has a lot of bright and cheerful photographs, it’s a pleasure to read and just flip through. I will definitely give this book to my parents, perhaps it will give them additional motivation for a long and happy life.
I tried to select the main ideas and habits that allow you to stay healthy and enjoy life “after 60.” Here they are:
- Regularly (or better yet, daily) train (experience physical exercise), but not through tension, but through relaxation of the body - deep and conscious. Best view The next most popular sport is dancing.
- Think a lot, engage in mental development.
- Smile a lot.
- Eat less than you want, try to avoid meat and drink red wine, every day, but little by little. You can eat everything.
- Live with family and for family.
- Believe...
- Have fun, and not live for a specific result or external approval.
- Be friendly.
- Be self-sufficient and enjoy it.
- Lead an active life.
I was also interested in the results of studies that showedthat's a whole series essential functions a person is not lost, but, on the contrary, develops with age:
- Training (because it is easier to concentrate and existing experience is used).
- Decision making (more informed and long-term).
- Emotional stability.
- Reaction to criticism (less painful).
- Youth of spirit (feel younger than their years).
- Creativity (and innovative approach).
- The level of happiness (increases).
- Emphatic (become less self-centered).
- Ability for foreign languages.