A friend of mine sent these to me and I thought they were worth passing along...
1. Keep a healthy life with moderate exercise (like walking every day), eat well and get your sleep. It's easy to become sick, and it gets harder to remain healthy. Keep in touch with your doctor, get tested even when you're feeling well. Stay informed.
2. Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other. The key goal is to enjoy your money with your partner. One day one of you will miss the other, and the money will not provide any comfort then. Enjoy it together.
3. Don't stress over the little things. You've already overcome so much in your life. You have good memories and bad ones, but the important thing is the present. Don't let the past drag you down or the future frighten you.
4. Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbor, your surroundings, your country. We are never old as long as we have intelligence and affection.
5. Read newspapers, watch the news. Go online and read what people are saying. Make sure you have an active email account and try to use some of those social networks. You'll be surprised which old friends you'll meet. Keeping in touch with what is going on and with the people you know is important at any age.
6. Respect the younger generation and their opinions. They may not have the same viewpoints as ours, but they are the future and will take the world in their direction. Give advice, not criticism, and try to remind them of yesterday's wisdom that still applies today.
7. Never use the phrase: "In my time." Your time is now. As long as you're alive, you’re part of this time. Yes, you have been younger, but you’re still you right now, have fun and enjoy life.
8. Don't abandon your hobbies. If you don't have any, make new ones. You can travel, hike, cook, read, dance. You can adopt a cat or a dog, grow a garden, play cards, checkers, chess dominoes, golf. You can paint, volunteer at an NGO or collect certain items. Find something you like and spend some real time having fun with it.
9. Even if you don't feel like it, try to accept invitations. Baptisms, graduations, birthdays, weddings, conferences. Try to go. Get out of the house, meet people you haven't seen in a while, experience something new (or something old). But don't get upset when you're not invited. Some events are limited by resources, and not everyone can be hosted. The important thing is to leave the house from time to time. Go to museums, go walk through a field. Get out there.
10. Be a conversationalist. Talk less and listen more. Some people go on and on about the past, not caring if their listeners are really interested. That's a great way of reducing the desire to speak with you. Listen first and answer questions, but don't go off into long stories unless asked to. Speak in courteous tones and try not to complain or criticize too much unless you really need to. Try to accept situations as they are. Everyone is going through the same things, and people have a low tolerance for hearing complaints. Always find some good things to say as well.
11. If you've been offended by others, forgive them. If you've offended someone - apologize. Don't drag resentment around with you. It will make you sad and bitter. It doesn't matter who was right. Someone once said, "Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die." Don't take that poison. Forgive and move on with your life.
12. Laugh. Laugh A LOT. Laugh at everything. Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You managed to have a life, a long one. Many never get to this age, never get to experience a full life. But you did. So what's not to laugh about? Find the humor in your situation.
