Failing hugely, live on TV: Friday thoughts
Plus: polygenic risk, DEXA and DNA tests; creating an "aging vision"; 9 winning habits for anyone over 40.
It’s Fun Friday — a term I adopted from my daughter’s weekly 4th grade classroom routine. There’s no reason AGING with STRENGTH can’t be fun on Friday, too, so….
Let’s get to it.
1 | Tests and scans: polygenic risk, DEXA & whole genome
After I published the first part of my two-part Q&A with
on “super aging,” many of you voiced interest in getting one or both of the tests he generally recommends everyone consider:a polygenic risk score1 that is less expensive, and/or …
a whole-genome sequencing — a more expensive, comprehensive and actionable view of your DNA
Here’s how each of these tests differ or overlap.
Several AGING with STRENGTH subscribers have since asked where they can get these tests. You could simply type in the name of the test + your postal code into a search engine. Or, here’s what Perplexity.ai suggests, which is worth a skim or full read, if you’re really interested. Please let me know if this information is helpful…or just enough to be more frustrating than helpful. Your feedback helps me provide better answers to you in the future.
2 | Intentionality & the importance of having an aging vision
I admit, this headline does not scream “FUN FRIDAY!” But I’ll keep this one short, because it’s worth mentioning how important and effective intentionality is for growing older in all the ways that will make you proud of yourself a decade or three from now.
Intentionality means being deliberate and purposeful about aging the way you want. Doing that obviously requires having well-formed, interrogated thoughts about what you want to be, look like, achieve by the time your xx(x?) years old. That, in turn, requires developing a vision — an actual image or set of images, and a narrative — about you, what you’re doing, with whom and where.
Fun, right?
Actually, it is a fun and creative thought exercise, one that you can turn into a social experiment (or a drinking game) by exchanging aging visions with someone you trust.
The next time you feel the urge to scroll your phone out of sheer, dumb habit, don’t! Instead, take just 30 seconds to form the outlines of your aging vision:
at age xx, what do I look like? what am I wearing? what’s my facial expression?
where am I living? how is that different from where I live now?
how do I spend my days? with whom? what’s my happy routine?
Having intentions makes a difference. As I recently learned after my conversation with
about drinking less and my in-depth talk with about specific nutrition advice after age 50: the mere act of contemplating how I want to be better actually got me to take steps to drink less and eat less processed food.Still kinda peeved at Dr. Fenn for confiscating my turkey sandwich w/ cheese lunch routine, but whatever….
3 | “A masterclass in handling failure”
Earlier this week, I wrote about aging with resilience and shared my recent, very painful journey through the valley of the shadow of job-search death. Writing about my failure, for well more than a year, to get even one full-time job offer was, itself, not easy.
But I just now, as I type this on Friday afternoon, realized that maybe what helped yank that personal story out of me was watching Amanda Anisimova, the American tennis player, get absolutely, historically demolished in the Wimbledon tennis championship last week, losing the match without winning a single game.
The worst defeat in a women’s Grand Slam final in 114 years, I believe they called it.
But then I read this story of her post-match behavior and not only did it draw tears to my own eyes — for Anisimova, yes, but also for everyone struggling, alone or in private, to land any paying job, repair a difficult relationship or overcome a chronic illness — but it also probably pushed me into finally writing about my failure to earn a decent living for so long.
As the saying goes, “I’ll be back.” So will Anisimova and anyone else who has a fraction of her gumption.
4 | “End the day with ritual, not just distraction”
We all abundantly hate those dumb articles with headlines like “9 Habits to Reverse Aging and Become a Billionaire.” This one is not that. It actually holds good advice like “move curiously” and “eat like a gardener.” Figured it’s worth sharing here.
Certainly, the advice about ending the day with a book, paper magazine or breath work, instead of a screen or your smartphone, is a winning idea.
a polygenic risk score is a number derived by combining information from numerous genetic markers to estimate your genetic predisposition to a particular disease or trait by aggregating the effects of many genetic variants. A PRS is intended to show you a more comprehensive picture of your inherited risk.
Happy Fun Friday!!!
I definitely have an aging vision—some of it carefully crafted, and other parts that are more of a vibe I’m evolving into. Like you, we’re in our late 50s, and like many women, I suspect I’m the reason my husband is still alive. If left to his own devices, he’d still be eating like a 22-year-old frat boy.
I sometimes say cheerfully morbid things like, “I wonder which of us will die first?” just to snap him out of his snack stupor. I do all the cooking to keep us both on the nutrient-dense, pro-longevity path, and I remind him that he’s worth more to me alive than dead, which is romantic in its own very practical way.
Aesthetically, I’ve always worn black. Not because I’m in mourning, but because bright colors give me circus flashbacks (Barnum & Bailey, anyone?). My home is the opposite: minimalist, mostly white, and intentionally not a future set for a pharmaceutical ad. I refuse to end up with a bedside tower of pill bottles or, perish the thought, a recliner. Comfort can be achieved without surrendering all taste.
My music hasn’t changed much over the years, and I remain mildly allergic to “old people” things like loud prints and overly busy decor.
So… how am I doing?
Glad you’re doing this work, Paul.