Younger Next Year: How to Slow Down Aging and Recapture Youth Without Drugs, Doctors or Drama

Aging is a hot topic. Book like the "Younger Next Year" series are runaway bestsellers, and everywhere you look "experts" seem to have the secret to slowing the aging process. Cosmetic surgery, special nutritional eating plans, vitamins and supplements are all aimed at keeping us younger. But what if there were a way to think yourself younger? While it may not yet be possible to reverse the aging process, is it possible to at least slow it down?

Recently, I was talking to a friend who'd just returned from a two-week trip to Japan. I asked him the standard question, "How was it?" and he gave me a surprising answer.

"The two weeks seemed to last forever," he enthused. "It was like when you were a kid and every day was new and different. You were always seeing new things, having unique experiences and everywhere you turned you discovered something amazing."

Wow! I thought back to those carefree summers of youth. Those days when it seemed like literally years between the end of one school year and the start of the next. Birthdays seemed far away...and Christmas? It might as well be the next century!

Those of you under 25 may not believe this, yet, but as you grow older time seems to speed up. Days and weeks and birthdays and holidays seem to go by so fast you don't have time to enjoy them. You find yourself looking back and saying, "What happened?"

So I decided to try a little experiment. I decided to see if I could slow down time once again. If I could, at least temporarily, return to those long, endless youthful days.

The experiment was successful. And I'm going to tell you exactly what I did.

Because I couldn't travel to Japan, I decided to start by trying to change things in my own environment. Little things, like the radio station I listen to in the morning, the route I take to the store, the people I talk to, etc. And you know what? There's a whole world out there!

If you're a night person, have you ever taken a walk outdoors early in the morning? If you're a music person, have you ever listened to talk radio?
If you shop at Bob's Discount Foods, have you ever tried tried a specialty food store?

If you're an adventurous person, perhaps these things come naturally. But if you get into a rut easily, it's invigorating to see, feel and experience something different just by making a few simple changes.

If you like pop music, try listening...and understanding classical. If you watch TV every evening, turn it off and allow yourself to be transported to another time by a classic book. If you generally keep to yourself while in line at the grocery store, resolve to strike up a conversation with the person behind you. These don't have to be permanent changes, but the more you reach out and say "yes" to life the more life will say "yes" to you. Take up a musical instrument. Sign up to learn a foreign language. Find a group of strangers that meet around a subject or activity you enjoy and join them. The fuller each day, the fuller each week and the fuller your life. Just like when you were a kid. And you don't even have to travel to Japan.

Give it a try. Even if it's only for a day or two, you'll be surprised at how things will feel. You'll see new things, have new experiences and discover just around the corner--something amazing!