Published 3 December 2017
So I’ve almost made it to the half-century.
Will I manage another fifty?
I like to think I have decent genes. I’ll be fifty next November, which means nearly half a century of roaming around the planet in this big old meat suit of mine.
A friend told me today that someone he had been playing walking football with recently collapsed and died.
He was fifty-four.
He had some underlying medical conditions, but still. Fifty-four. Only a few years older than me.
That got me thinking.
There is quite a lot I need to do if I want to improve my chances of sticking around for a good while yet. The first thing is getting my weight down. I am not going to break my neck or live on hay and water for the rest of my life. I need to get back to intermittent fasting and stay with it.
Next, I need at least an hour of exercise every day. Probably walking, mostly. Maybe I’ll even dust off the static bike.
Then there is the money side of things.
I need to do something about my debts and the anxiety they create. I am not good enough with money, and I need to re-educate myself. I need to get a proper grip on our financial situation.
I also have high blood pressure, and I am pre-diabetic, so there are a few things that could shorten the road if I keep ignoring them.
As you can see, there is plenty to sort out.
I’ll get Christmas out of the way, then crack on.
2018 is going to be the year I begin again, just in time for the rest of my life.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll be reducing my social media footprint and using this place as the main home for my writing. I may still share things out from here, but I’m also looking at smaller, quieter alternatives to the usual platforms.
I’m enjoying the voluntary work I’ve been doing lately. I do not plan to increase that workload, only improve what I already do.
My writing output will increase, too, mainly as I document the changes I am making. It is true what they say: the more you practise something, the better you become.
I’ve also been thinking about a negativity fast, as a way to see life with more clarity. I’ll write about that another time.
I do not want to live forever.
Just long enough to do the things I need and want to do before I slip off this mortal coil.
Until then,
adieu.