People love to tell you what aging is supposed to look like. They say you should rest more, aim lower, and accept decline as inevitable. I did the opposite. Now at 68, my mind is clearer than it was decades ago. These are the seven things I kept doing, no matter how many times someone told me it was time to stop.
I’m going to be honest with you.
If you told me you were 68 and sharper than you were at 40, my first instinct would be to raise an eyebrow and think, Sure… and my phone battery lasts all day.
But then I met a guy at a wine dinner in Barcelona a few years ago.
He was the oldest person at the table, dressed better than everyone, cracking jokes in three languages, and somehow making the rest of us look like we were running on dial-up internet.
He told me he was 68.
Not only that, he said he’d never felt more mentally alive.
He wasn’t bragging. He was stating it like a fact. Like the sky is blue and most people overcook chicken breast.
I asked him what his secret was.
He smiled, swirled his glass, and said something I’ve never forgotten: “Everyone told me to slow down. So I doubled down.”
That line stuck with me because it’s the exact opposite of what most of us hear as we get older.
Society has this quiet belief that mental sharpness has an expiration date.
That at some point, you’re supposed to stop trying, stop learning, stop pushing, stop caring.
But the people who stay sharp keep doing the things everyone else quits.
Here are the seven things I refused to stop doing, even when people told me I should.
1) I kept lifting heavy things
Most people hear “68” and imagine someone doing gentle yoga and sipping green tea.
Movement is great in any form, but if you want to stay sharp and capable, you need resistance training.
And I don’t mean those pastel dumbbells that look like they belong in a Barbie gym set.
I mean challenging weights.
Lifting improves blood flow, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation markers.
It also gives your body a reason to stay strong, which matters more than people admit.
There’s also something psychological about it.
It’s hard to feel helpless when you can lift your own bodyweight off the ground.
When people told me, “You’re too old for that,” I didn’t stop.
I got smarter. Better form. Longer warm-ups. More recovery.
But I never quit.
Because the moment you stop demanding strength from your body, your body stops offering it.
2) I never stopped eating protein like it mattered
A weird thing happens as people get older.
They start eating like birds. Toast, soup, half a banana, and then they wonder why they feel weaker and foggier every year.
Protein supports muscle, but it also supports neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that affect focus, mood, motivation, and memory.
If you want to stay sharp, your brain needs building blocks.
That means you need real meals.
Eggs. Greek yogurt. Fish. Lean meat. Lentils. Tofu. Whatever works for you.
You don’t need to eat like a bodybuilder.
But you do need enough protein to stop your body from shrinking year by year without you noticing.
Muscle loss is linked to cognitive decline, and it makes sense.
Your body and brain are not separate systems.
Feed the whole machine.
3) I kept reading like my life depended on it
When people hit middle age, they stop reading. Not because they don’t have time.
They scroll instead. The problem is, scrolling trains your brain to crave constant stimulation and tiny hits of novelty.
Reading trains the opposite skill. Focus. Patience. Depth. Reading is mental resistance training.
It forces you to follow an argument. It forces you to think in full paragraphs again. It forces your attention to stay put.
Nearly every mentally sharp older person I know is a reader.
Some read nonfiction. Some read novels. Some read history. Some read everything. But they all share the same trait.
They stay curious.
And curiosity is brain oxygen.
4) I stayed socially active, even when it felt easier not to
Social activity doesn’t sound like a “brain habit,” but it is.
A lot of people isolate as they age. Friends get busy. Families move. Energy drops. Socializing feels like effort.
They stop.
That’s when the mind starts shrinking.
Social interaction forces your brain to do a lot at once. Listening. Responding. Reading emotions. Remembering details. Telling stories. Thinking on the spot.
It’s a real-time cognitive workout.
Sharp people don’t wait around for someone to invite them.
They join clubs. They host dinners. They go for walks with friends. They stay in touch.
And yes, it’s inconvenient sometimes.
So is brushing your teeth.
You do it because you know what happens if you don’t.
5) I kept traveling, even when people said I should settle down
Travel is one of the best ways to keep your brain young.
Not because airports are magical. Because travel disrupts autopilot. New environments force you to adapt.
You navigate unfamiliar places. You solve small problems. You meet new people. You taste new foods. You use your brain differently.
Even small trips help.
You don’t need to backpack across the world. A weekend somewhere new can do the job.
The key is novelty.
A routine life makes time blur and thinking dull. A life with newness keeps the mind awake.
6) I kept challenging my opinions
This might be the biggest one.
A lot of people get older and their thinking hardens.
They stop updating their beliefs. They decide what they think about health, relationships, money, food, and the world, and they lock it in like it’s permanent.
That’s how the mind gets brittle. Sharp people stay flexible.
They stay willing to say, “Maybe I’m wrong.”
They ask: What if there’s a better way now? What if I’m holding onto a belief that no longer serves me? What if the world changed and I didn’t?
That’s not weakness. That’s intelligence. The smartest people don’t cling to being right.
They cling to learning.
If you want to stay sharp, don’t become the kind of person who says, “That’s just how I am,” like it’s a badge of honor.
That phrase is the beginning of mental decline.
7) I refused to stop eating for pleasure
Let’s talk about food.
One of the saddest things I see is older people turning eating into punishment.
They eat bland food because they think they “should.” They stop trying new restaurants. They stop cooking interesting meals. They stop experimenting.
And slowly, life becomes smaller.
The people who stay sharp don’t just stay healthy. They stay engaged with life.
Food is a huge part of that. Eating with pleasure is a mental health habit.
Cooking is a creativity habit. Trying new cuisines is a curiosity habit.
Sharing meals is a social habit. You don’t have to eat recklessly, but you also shouldn’t lose the joy.
Because joy is fuel.
And a life without pleasure is a life that loses its edge.
The bottom line
Getting older doesn’t automatically make you dull. Giving up does.
The people who stay sharp aren’t magical unicorns with perfect genetics.
They’re just stubborn in the right ways. They keep lifting. They keep learning. They keep eating well. They keep showing up socially. They keep chasing new experiences. They keep questioning themselves.
And they keep enjoying life.
If you’re reading this and thinking, I’m not 68, but I already feel like I’m slowing down, good. That means you caught it early.
Pick one of these habits and commit to it this week. Not because you want to live longer. But because you want to feel more alive while you’re here.
That’s the whole point.
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