This wonderful blog about essential life SMARTS: Ingredients Required to Age Gracefully, was written by the darling and talented, Mitzi Beach. I do hope you enjoy! 

Have you ever left out an ingredient when baking chocolate chip cookies? Well, I certainly have, but I didn’t realize my error until tasting my first cookie. What had I left out that changed the intended yummy result?

In my 30 years as a certified professional interior designer, countless times I observed clients not only leaving out key ingredients in their homes but leaving out essential life SMARTS ingredients required to age gracefully.

Realizing that after many tedious soul-searching years of witnessing this pattern of life omissions by so many that I care deeply for, there was no choice for me but to give back what I have been privileged to obtain by decades of experience.

From Honey and other authors, there is an understanding that writing a book is not for sissies! But when one believes they have a calling to help others in their own sphere of giftings and or influence, not to accept this challenge in my opinion, could be labeled as prideful selfishness.

Therefore, I was motivated to empower this huge demographic to grab hold of their lives and say. “Yes, I surely can do all in my power to enjoy my life to the fullest as God intended for me.” However, the caveat or condition is to accept one’s personal responsibility to aging gracefully by establishing a safe, ergonomic, and functional living space.

Aging In Place

As an Aging In Place Specialist, (C.A.P.S.), in my book section on ROUTINES, I describe aging in beauty, comfort, and glorious style to make Aging In Place sound more palatable. But once again, I sadly observe most people ignoring their own safety in their homes believing incorrectly that they are, “Just fine thank you very much so stop bugging me!”

There have been huge strides in women accepting their aging. Now, however, is our challenge to seek aging safely in our living spaces.

Our former home was designed as an Aging In Place home except no one recognized it since the goal of my design was to prove it appeared “normal”. As an interior designer, of course, my own home should be wonderful and lovely, as other designer’s homes normally are. But the lens that I judge all living spaces on regardless of the style is to be safe, ergonomic, and functional. Any designer worth her skills can make any special beautiful. But does it meet the requirements to safely age gracefully?

To this end of helping my beloved O5O’s (50+ers), is what I believe is a recipe for aging gracefully that like the chocolate chip cookie recipe, every single ingredient is of the utmost value to ensure successful results.

Ingredients Required to Age Gracefully

This acronym is my “recipe” for Aging Gracefully for the 50+.

S our SPACE (design)
Our spaces directly impact our lives. What is working in your home now? What is not?

M our MINDSETS
Our lives directly follow our thinking. A positive mindset results in a positive life; a negative mindset results in a negative life. You get to choose.

A our ATTITUDES
Our attitudes directly affect all and everything we do or become in our life. Age is just a number and you get to choose your attitude on aging.

R our ROUTINES (lifestyle)
Our personal lifestyle in achieving wellness directly impacts our lives. Are you putting yourself first regarding your own personal life? You get to choose.

T our TOGETHERNESS (community)
Our relationships directly affect our quality of life. Giving back to your community and others changes everything. You get to choose to live outside of your inner circle of connections or not.

S our SPIRITUALITY (we all believe in something)
Our personal decisions about spirituality affect our outlook on life. Everyone believes in something, either your own power or divine power.

Essentials For Wellness

Even though the O5Os (50+ers) are not yet in the geriatric demographic segment, this group is most definitely untapped and mostly neglected in these between stages of life. What is needed is more aging pioneers to lead us forward to embrace the necessary elements and upgrades in our homes.

It is also essential to understand that we are living longer than ever. Therefore, it has become increasingly relevant and essential for the wellness of this immense population group to discover fresh, new ways in all areas of life to thrive and enjoy their later years.

These people are the true social pioneers. “Like ‘Age Scouts,’ they travel ahead into the later years to chart the uncertain territory of a long life.” – Ken Dychtwalk, Age Wave

My goal for writing my book (and Honey writing her blog) is to instill a positive hope that it is never too late to fine-tune anyone’s recipe for life. Small but consistent changes over time will make a huge difference in anyone’s finely tuned delicious life recipe.

Along with the world’s best chocolate chip cookie recipe, the world needs role models who age gracefully. Why not this be you?

Mitzi Beach A.S.I.D. C.A.P.S. is an award-winning Interior Designer, Author, and 50+ Demographic Marketing & LifestyleSpecialist. Author of the book “Design Smarts, Inspiration for Home + Life.” Mitzi, armed with 30 years experience and a masters degree in interior design, is one of the Design Hounds Top 100 influencers 2018, selected as a member of the prestigious Style Spotters High Point market in North Carolina, as well as High Point Market Design Bloggers Tour, quoted in The Wall Street Journal as an expert in the emerging Aging in Place (AIP) trend. Join her private Facebook group, “Aging Gracefully for the 50+” where she shares weekly acronyms of the SMARTS. Their motto is “We do more for ourselves so we can be more for others.”

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