Look Who’s Your Age!

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In keeping with the Think Like a Child Again topic from yesterday, I’d very much like to get all up in your face for a minute or two.  Don’t worry, I’ve brushed my teeth so I’m all minty.

I have as many pet peeves as the next person – things that people do or say that drive me straight bonkers.  A little one nearly unnerved me a few nights ago:  People at baseball games who sit behind home plate, talking on the phone and waving at the camera.  Noobs!  It’s especially annoying when they’re own pitcher is on the mound. Do you really want to distract him that much?! It’s annoying at best, distracting at worst and I can’t tell you how much I’d love to throw water on people who do it.

There. I feel better.

Another pet peeve is one that honestly doesn’t hurt or affect me in any way – I just hate  to see other people do it to themselves.  And that is this:  Acting older than you are or thinking that you’re “too old” for certain things.  I’d rather see a lady in her 60’s wearing the exact same thing my youngest daughter is than see a lady in her 60’s shuffling through the store with curlers in her hair.  The difference?  The one in feisty, young clothes is LIVING.  The shuffler is DYING.  Slowly, but it’s the direction she’s facing.

On the last season of The Biggest Loser, Bob Harper, literally, made one of the contestants stand up straight and start walking with more pep.  He pointed out that he was shuffling along – YEARS before he should even know what the word shuffle was.  When the gentleman began picking up his feet and walking rather than scooting, he took a good 10 years off his appearance.

It seems to me that when a lot of people get past 45, they start looking at the finish line for some ridiculous reason.  First of all, why would anyone want to look there in the first place?!  Look around you, at your life and at the beautiful world.  LIVE!

Below is a list I’ve compiled of men and women along with the year in which they were born. The next time you start thinking you’re too old for this or you aren’t young enough for that, remember who else is your age and knock it the heck off!  You don’t want me throwing water on you, do you?

Betty White – born in 1922.

Clint Eastwood – born in 1930.

John McCain – born in 1936.

Morgan Freeman – born in 1937.

Raquel Welch – born in 1940.

Harrison Ford – born in 1942.

Joe Biden – born in 1942.

Michael Douglas – born in 1944.

Helen Mirren – born in 1945. 

Sylvester Stallone – born in 1946.

Al Gore – born in 1948.

Samuel L. Jackson – born in 1948.

David Letterman – born in 1947.

Hilary Clinton – born in 1947.

Paula Deen – born in 1947.

Liam Neeson – born in 1952.

Denzel Washington – born in 1954.

Oprah Winfrey – born in 1954.

Bruce Willis – born in 1955.

Reba McEntire – born in 1955.

Billy Bob Thornton – born in 1955.

Denise Austin – born in 1957.

Madonna – born in 1958.

Kevin Bacon – born in 1958.

Simon Cowell  – born in 1959.

Valerie Bertinelli – born in 1960.

Sean Penn – born in 1960.

George Clooney – born in 1961.

Barack Obama – born in 1961.

Demi Moore – born in 1962. 

Tom Cruise – born in 1962.

Alton Brown – born in 1962.

Steve Carell – born in 1962.

Sheryl Crow – born in 1962.

Johnny Depp – born in 1963.

Brad Pitt – born in 1963.

Courtney Cox – born in 1964.

Michelle Obama – born in 1964.

Russell Crowe – born in 1964.

Sandra Bullock – born in 1964.

Bobby Flay – born in 1964.

Clive Owen – born in 1964.

Wendy Williams – born in 1964.

Sarah Palin – born in 1964.

Robert Downey, Jr – born in 1965.

Kyra Sedgwick – born in 1965.

Bob Harper – born in 1965.

Shania Twain – born in 1965.

Diane Lane – born in 1965.

Halle Berry – born in 1966.

Cindy Crawford – born in 1966.

Martina McBride – born in 1966.

Faith Hill – born in 1967.

Will Ferrell – born in 1967.

Vin Diesel – born in 1967.

Tim McGraw – born in 1967.

Julia Roberts – born in 1967.

Nicole Kidman – born in 1967.

Keith Urban – born in 1967.

Will Smith – born in 1968.

Rachael Ray – born in 1968.

Catherine Zeta-Jones – born in 1969.

Jennifer Aniston – born in 1969.

Gerard Butler – born in 1969.

Naomi Campbell – born in 1970.

Tina Fey – born in 1970.

Matt Damon – born in 1970.

Uma Thurman – born in 1970.

• Now, do you really think you’re too old to turn heads?
• Are you too old to wear the clothes you WANT to wear?
• Are you too old to feel sexy?
• Are you too old to have fun?
• Are you too old to live out loud?!
• Are you too old to get fit?
• Are you too old to go where you want to go?

These people are living life to its fullest and proving that age no longer matters.  Some weren’t even known until they were past 40.  People are now raising families (and often even starting families) well out of their 20s and 30s.  They’re embarking on new careers, looking all kinds of fabulous, living life out loud, and asking the world one question: “Do you finally get it… age is all in your mind?”

Like most things in life, if we keep telling ourselves something negative, it’ll “set in.”  Negative reinforcement is a powerful, powerful thing and we should be on watch against it 24-7. When we act or allow ourselves to behave or look older than we really are, we only age ourselves.  Literally!

If you’re not living, you’re dying.

1. Stand up straight.
2. Wear what the heck you want to wear.
3. Grow your hair to your toes if you want to.
4. Listen to the music that makes you dance in your seat.
5. Never say, “If I was younger…”
6. Laugh more…. and do it out loud.

Get out there and raise a little hell.