Episode: 455
What Are You Doing With Your Life? An 89 Year Old’s Best Advice for You
with Judie Robbins
What if you're not too old or too late, and the best part of your life is still ahead of you?
At 89, Mel’s mother-in-law Judie Robbins has a big plan: rent out her house, pack a backpack, and travel across Europe for a year with her 85-year-old partner.
Join Mel, Chris, Judie, and the dogs for an impromptu walk through Vermont as Judie shares what inspired her decision and why she refuses to wait for the perfect time.
They talk about aging, breaking out of routines, and starting new chapters at any age.
This funny, heartfelt conversation will make you question what you’ve been putting off, and what you could do about it today.
Listen on:
You have no guarantee that there’s tomorrow, so mix things up now.
Judie Robbins
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Key takeaways
If your routine has become so familiar that you’re bored with your own life, that boredom is your signal to shake things up and experience something new.
You do not need the perfect time to begin a new chapter, because while you are waiting for the right moment to make a change, time itself is not waiting for you.
The moment you stop thinking about a change and decide, “I’m doing it,” your mind shifts from seeing excuses to seeing possibility and figuring out how to do it.
If you are healthy enough to do something you want to do now, take advantage of that ability instead of assuming you will still be able to do it later.
You can have a beautiful life and still decide you want something different, because gratitude for what you have does not mean you must stay in the same routine.
Guests Appearing in this Episode
Judie Robbins
Judie Robbins is Mel Robbins’ 89-year-old mother-in-law. Judie is a widow, whose adventurous spirit and bold approach to life prove that you’re never too old to start a new chapter.
Resources
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- National Institute on Aging: Participating in Activities You Enjoy As You Age
- The Greater Good Science Center at the UC, Berkeley: How to Find Fulfillment in Retirement
- The Greater Good Science Center at the UC, Berkeley: Thinking About Reaching Out to Someone? Science Says Do It
- National Institute on Aging: How can strength training build healthier bodies as we age?
- Stanford Business: “We Have 30 Extra Years”: A New Way of Thinking About Aging
- National Institute on Aging: 10 Common Misconceptions About Aging
- The Greater Good Science Center at the UC, Berkeley: How Friends Help Us Grow Old
- PNAS: Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women
- American Psychological Association: The surprise of reaching out: Appreciated more than we think
- American Psychological Association: Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults
