Video: Finding Balance At 70

As he turns 70, Dr. Weil discusses the balancing act of successful aging. We must acknowledge the fact that we are older, he says, but avoid an obsessive focus on the limits that may come with it. At every age, he says, there are always more possibilities for growth and exploration than we can ever imagine.

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Video Transcript: Dr. Weil Reflects on Turning 70

Turning 60 was big for me because it really made me face the fact that I have less life ahead of me than I have behind me and felt like a divide in my life. 70, I think is another big milestone because I can’t escape the fact that I’m old. You know, I’m an elder; that’s a polite way of saying that I’m old. When I was growing up, 70 seemed ancient. Now I think many 70 year olds today are different from the way 70 year olds were when I was growing up. I think that’s a result of people having better information and better products and services and better preventive medical care. I’ve been blessed with good health; I‘m active. I feel changes in my body, but you know I can’t escape the fact that I’ve lived for 70 years. I see many of my contemporaries who are not in very good shape and I get calls from people I went to college with and high school with who are now facing really serious health crises and life-threatening illnesses. As I say, I feel blessed about that but I’m also aware that, you know, I’ve seen in my own parents and people I know, that the decade between 70 and 80 is often a decade of decline and a decade of change. I want to be prepared for that and I guess I feel that what’s most important is to find a balance between denying the reality of aging and being overly obsessed with it. And I think both of those are pitfalls. You know, I want to be aware of my limitations and changes in my body and possible risks. I want to be especially vigilant about my physical health and keeping my mind active and at the same time I don’t want to dwell on the negative possibilities of aging. So I think finding that balance is going to be important for me.