What Are You Waiting For?

And how long can you stand on one leg?

Welcome to a fortnightly newsletter, designed for those committed to staying positive and proactive as they navigate the challenges and rewards of ageing. Together, we explore insights and experiences that make the second half of life meaningful and enriching. With over 30 years of experience following and applying the science of healthy living—mentally and physically—I’m happy to share what I’ve learned through articles, podcasts, and videos. Subscribe now to stay inspired and informed on how to live well, inside and out.

This is an extra post for you, my subscribers. I hope you find it useful and entertaining.

Photo by David Taffet on Unsplash

What Are You Waiting For?

Much of life involves waiting. We wait in queues in shops and airports, at the dentist and the doctor. We wait for the holiday we’ve booked, for the special event we planned, for the weekend, to start a family, to retire, for what’s going to happen next in our lives.

It sometimes appears life is all about waiting - for the right time and things to get better, but life is passing you by. You have no choice in queues, but waiting to start a new project? Live in the present, not an expected future. Living in the second half of life is when you must stop waiting and start acting. You cannot get back time once you’ve spent it. Successful people don’t waste time, they use it well. They focus and prioritise to achieve their aims. To live in the now means to live life fully.

Stop waiting for your life to begin. What’s holding you back from achieving your dream? People overestimate the time and effort needed to accomplish their dreams. We think it’s too hard; the time isn’t right, why do others have it easier than me, we ask ourselves. We can always find a reason (excuse) for not doing something we really want to do, but keep finding pretexts not to.

That book you intend to write, the other one you want to publish, the art lessons you plan to take one day, the new language you want to learn sometime in the future, the Substack you thought you’d start- what’s stopping you from doing it now?

The Cambridge English Dictionary says the meaning of waiting is: ……..to allow time to go by, especially while staying in one place without doing very much until someone comes, until something that you are expecting happens or until you can do something… You are more likely to achieve worthwhile goals if you don’t waste time waiting for something or someone to help you make it happen. Be proactive.

Learning to live in the present moment will help with waiting when it’s unavoidable. Stoics believe in embracing imperfection and starting where you are. Marcus Aurelius said, ‘Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away. Time is precious and fleeting.’

Photo by Sarah Kilian on Unsplash

How long can you stand on one leg?

According to a recent article in the Metro, a research study looked at how long we should be able to stand on one leg. The study found that strength and balance are involved and that the pose was a valid measure of frailty, independence, and fall status, which relates to age; so the older you are, the less likely you are to be able to hold the pose for very long. This applies to both men and women.

The National Health Service in England has guidelines for how long you should be able to stand on one leg according to age. If you’re going to try it, you need to keep your eyes open and place your hands on your hips. Start timing when you pick up your foot and stop when you put it down.

Time by age

Ages 18-39: 43 seconds

40-49: 40 seconds

50-59: 37 seconds

60-69: 30 seconds

70-79: 18 seconds

80+ : 5 seconds

The NHS recommends not holding the position longer than a minute.

According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds in later life is linked to almost doubling the risk of death from any cause within 10 years. So exercise is vital to keeping strong and fit throughout life.

Source: https://metro.co.uk/2024/11/28/this-long-able-stand-one-leg-according-age-22081648/

I’m in the 70-79 age bracket and have been practicing yoga for over 30 years, so I expected to be able to stand on one leg for longer than that in my age group, and I wasn’t disappointed. I stood on each leg for 60 seconds, though I struggled from 50 seconds onwards.

Try it for yourself, and forward the post to friends interested in taking care of their health in the second half of life.

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