What’s Happening in Washington DC this week?

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I'm Heading Back to Washington D.C. — and I'm Going for You!

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This week, I will be joining advocates from across the country in Washington, D.C. for my 6th year as part of the Alzheimer's Association's Alzheimer's Impact Movement (AIM) Advocacy Forum — one of the most important gatherings in the fight against Alzheimer's disease and all other dementias. And I wanted to take a moment before I go to share what this trip is about, why it matters, and what I will be asking our lawmakers to do.

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What Is the AIM Advocacy Forum?

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Every year, passionate advocates from all 50 states descend on Capitol Hill wearing purple — the color of the Alzheimer's movement — to make sure Congress hears directly from the people and communities most affected by this disease. This is not a conference where we sit in a room and talk to each other. This is Hill Day — where we walk into the offices of our senators and representatives and look them in the eye and ask them to act.

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More than 1,100 advocates participated in last year's forum alone. Every year, I am proud to be one of them — representing Indiana for the 6th year and the work being done through Dementia Friendly Indiana Communities to build a state where every person living with dementia is seen, supported, and never forgotten. As part of the Wise Owl Network's commitment to keeping the aging community informed, I will be bringing this experience back and sharing it here — because what happens in Washington directly affects older adults, caregivers, and families across Indiana and the nation.

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What Will We Be Asking Congress to Do?

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The Alzheimer's Association and AIM go to Washington with specific, concrete policy asks. Here is what advocates will be urging Congress to prioritize this year:

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1. Increase Federal Alzheimer's Research Funding at the NIH Research is the foundation of everything. Earlier this year, Congress reached a bipartisan agreement to provide a $100 million increase for Alzheimer's and dementia research at the National Institutes of Health — bringing total annual federal dementia research funding to $3.9 billion. That is a significant milestone, and a direct result of years of advocacy. But the work is not done. Advocates will be urging Congress to protect and build on that investment, because a cure does not happen without sustained, serious funding.

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2. Fund the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act The BOLD Act — Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure — is the law that strengthens public health departments across the country to address dementia at the community level. It supports early detection, reduces risk, and helps prevent avoidable hospitalizations. This year's bipartisan agreement also includes $41.5 million for BOLD implementation — a historic high. Advocates will be pushing to make sure that funding is protected and that the BOLD Reauthorization Act moves forward to keep this critical infrastructure in place.

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3. Support the NAPA Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer's Accountability and Investment Act The National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) is the law that created our nation's first National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease. It has been the backbone of federal Alzheimer's policy for over a decade. The NAPA Reauthorization Act renews that commitment — and the Alzheimer's Accountability and Investment Act ensures that funding requests are tied directly to what scientists say is needed to make progress. Both were recently signed into law, and advocates will be working to ensure full implementation.

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4. Pass the ASAP Act — Alzheimer's Screening and Prevention Act This is one of the most exciting asks on the table right now. The ASAP Act would create a Medicare coverage pathway for FDA-approved blood biomarker screening tests — the breakthrough blood tests that can now detect signs of Alzheimer's years before symptoms appear. Earlier detection means earlier intervention, earlier planning, and access to the most current treatment options. This bill is bipartisan, it is common sense, and it could change the trajectory of this disease for millions of Americans.

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5. Support the AADAPT Act The Accelerating Access to Dementia and Alzheimer's Provider Training Act would strengthen training for healthcare providers so they are better equipped to identify, diagnose, and support people living with dementia. It is currently moving through markup in Congress — and advocates will be there to push it forward.

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Why I Am Going

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I am going to Washington because the people I serve here in Indiana deserve to have someone at that table. I am going because every family, including my own, (my mother) navigating a dementia diagnosis deserves better — better research, better detection, better community support, and a government that takes this disease as seriously as it deserves to be taken.

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And I am going because advocacy works. Federal investment in Alzheimer's research has increased more than sevenfold in the last decade — because advocates showed up, year after year, and refused to be ignored.

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Stay tuned. When I return, I will be sharing my personal experience — the meetings, the moments, the stories I hear, and what it feels like to walk the halls of Congress for the people of Indiana living with dementia.

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Wise Owl Network is dedicated to keeping the aging community informed through resources on healthy aging, lifelong learning, and professional development. Visit us at www.wiseowlnetwork.com to explore more.

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Dementia Friendly Indiana Communities is a statewide network dedicated to equipping communities across Indiana to support people living with dementia. To learn more or get involved, visit www.dfindiana.org .

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How to talk to your doctor about memory concerns.

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Talking to Your Doctor About Memory: What You Need to Know

Memory concerns can be unsettling — whether you've noticed changes in yourself or someone you love. Forgetting where you put your keys, missing an appointment, or struggling to find the right word in a conversation can feel alarming. But here's something important to know: not all memory changes mean dementia, and talking to your doctor is always the right first step.

Many people wait too long to bring up memory concerns, either because they're worried about what they might hear or because they're not sure their concerns are "serious enough" to mention. The truth is, there is no memory concern too small to bring to your doctor. Early conversations lead to earlier answers — and earlier answers lead to better outcomes.

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What Is Normal and What Is Not

It helps to understand the difference between typical age-related memory changes and changes that warrant a closer look.

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Normal aging may include:

• Occasionally forgetting a name but remembering it later

• Misplacing items from time to time

• Taking longer to learn new information

• Needing reminders for appointments or tasks

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Changes worth discussing with a doctor include:

• Forgetting recent conversations or events entirely

• Getting lost in familiar places

• Difficulty managing finances, medications, or daily tasks that were once routine

• Noticeable changes in mood, personality, or behavior

• Asking the same questions repeatedly within a short time

If any of these sound familiar — for yourself or someone you care for — it is time to make that appointment.

How to Prepare for the Conversation

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Walking into a doctor's appointment prepared makes a real difference. Doctors appreciate specific information, and being ready helps you make the most of your time together.

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Before your appointment:

• Write down the specific memory changes you have noticed, including when they started and how often they occur

• Note any other symptoms — sleep problems, mood changes, difficulty with daily tasks

• List all current medications, including over-the-counter drugs and supplements, since some can affect memory

• Bring a trusted family member or friend who can share what they have observed — a second perspective is genuinely helpful to your doctor

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During your appointment, don't be afraid to ask:

• What could be causing these changes?

• What tests or evaluations do you recommend?

• Are there lifestyle changes that could help?

• Should I see a specialist, and if so, what kind?

• What should I watch for going forward?

Download this free resource to prompt you to ask the right questions and to fill out before you go.

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What Your Doctor May Do

Your doctor has several tools available to evaluate memory concerns. The visit may include a physical exam, a review of your medications, blood tests to rule out treatable causes like thyroid issues or vitamin deficiencies, and a brief cognitive screening test. These screenings are not pass/fail — they simply give your doctor a clearer picture of how your memory and thinking are functioning.

Depending on what they find, your doctor may refer you to a neurologist, geriatrician, or memory specialist for a more detailed evaluation.

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A Word for Family Members and Caregivers

If you are concerned about someone else's memory, approaching the conversation with care matters. Bring it up gently and privately, focus on specific things you have noticed rather than general accusations, and frame it as coming from a place of love and concern — not judgment. Offering to go to the appointment together can make a big difference for someone who feels anxious or resistant.

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The Most Important Thing

Memory concerns are worth taking seriously — but they are also worth taking calmly. Many causes of memory changes are treatable. And for conditions like Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, early detection opens the door to planning, support, and access to the most current treatment options available.

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You do not have to have all the answers before you walk into your doctor's office. You just have to start the conversation.

Additional Resources:

Dementia Friendly Indiana Communities is a statewide network dedicated to equipping communities across Indiana to support people living with dementia. For a Road Map and other resources and information, visit www.dfindiana.org

There are often many resources out there to refer to. Dementia Friendly America is a nationwide movement and there are often dementia friendly efforts in each state. Check out www.dfamerica.org for more information.

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Purpose, Passion and Life

You’ve been waiting to hear a about energy and how to get more as we age, right? Well, this isn’t about that kind of energy to get things done, but rather, what is Reiki and how does it work by moving energy. And what does this have to do with purpose, passion and life?

Hear from Diana Matthews in this interview about Reiki and Forrest bathing, and about her clear ability to recognize that creating those kinds of nurturing spaces matters deeply for her personal passions and priorities. Learn how she draws on the totality of her life experiences and her own drive to manage anxiousness, turning those lessons into a practical approach she uses to support both herself and others. Along the way she continues to discover that she is still uncovering her purpose and passion, embracing new possibilities and living life to the fullest.

Follow this link for part 1 of the interview with Diana.

If you like what you see and you are interested in the Vintage Generation membership, click here and subscribe to the free newsletter or the blog before May 31st, and get a free 30 day membership on us!

I am just getting this resource started for our communities. Please support me by sharing my emails and Facebook posts! Wise Owl Network is a resource sharing platform to help us live our best lives as we age and to support professionals who are caring for our aging adults through educational opportunities. Check out our resource pages and our Wise Academy page for more details!

If you know someone who needs a 30 minute free consultation to find specific resources related to dementia or other aging care needs, contact us to set up a call or virtual meeting.

In your own back yard…

Did you know there are always resources that are hidden in your own back yard? It is always so hard to find things when you don’t know where to look. And if you are not in need of a specific resource, well then, why would you know about that resource?

One hidden gem that has been a part of the Bloomington community for a long time is the CoDesign Commons. The leaders of this collaborative organization have always looked for ways to help older adult thrive and have access to resources and living. I have personally gotten to work with the some of these excellent minded, compassionate hearted individuals in some of the biggest projects in my life. They are great people to get to know.

So what is the CoDesign Commons? Well quoting directly from their web page; “The CoDesign Commons is a collaborative space to address aging-related challenges in the community—we are helping researchers, community organizations, and older adults work together to solve problems!”

We have added them to “What is happening in your back yard” on the resource page so that you can download the May schedule. The theme for May is “Living from the Inside Out”. Check out more about what they have coming up in their Food for Thought series, followed by Creative Lab on most Fridays at the College Mall Endwright Center.

Socialization is one of the pillars of protecting your brain health. But with this group, you get to add life-long learning and creative art to boost your mood and your brain!

What Every Long-Term Care Professional Needs to Know About 2026 Medicaid & Medicare Changes

Big changes to Medicare and Medicaid are here in 2026.

‍Disclaimer: These rules and regulations are always subject to change rapidly in the current changing political environment. Always check to see if there have been additional changes and in what way. For now, I am trying to bring the most current that I can find according to researching along with tools to help you check and adjust. Links to sources below.

Here are a few bullet points that you can review and discuss with your team to make sure that you are aware of them and adjust how your facility addresses them for your staff and residents. For additional check offs, download our check off list to stay as up to date as possible on Indiana’s specific changes and requirements.

• Medicare Part B premiums hit a new milestone — the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B has risen to $202.90 in 2026, up $17.90 from 2025 — the first time it has exceeded $200. The annual Part B deductible has also increased to $283, up from $257.

• Prescription drug costs are changing — starting January 1, 2026, Medicare began using newly negotiated prices for a group of commonly used and expensive prescription drugs under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The most a resident will have to spend out of pocket on prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D is now capped at $2,100.

• The minimum staffing rule repeal — this is a big one for LTC professionals. CMS repealed the minimum staffing standards for long-term care facilities, with regulations effective February 2, 2026. This removed the previous requirement for nursing homes to provide 3.48 total nurse staff hours per resident per day and 24/7 RN coverage.

• Prior authorization is expanding — if your facility is in one of the pilot states, you may need prior approval for certain procedures or medical equipment, with the goal of preventing unnecessary care — though some worry it could lead to delays. If something is urgent, ask about expedited review options.

• Medicaid income thresholds have shifted — the individual income limit for those requiring long-term care has risen to $2,982 per month. If a resident has income above this limit, they may still qualify by using a Qualified Income Trust.

• What to do right now — a practical checklist for administrators, nurses, and social workers to respond to these changes in their facilities can be downloaded and or printed off by logging into our Wise Academy membership page.

I hope that reviewing these changes will lead you to investigate and make sure that your team is aware and on board so that everyone can feel better informed to help your families and residents.

-Amanda

Internet Research Resources & References: ElderLawAnswers, Federal Register, Hickman Lowder

You can’t pour from an empty cup:

Stress Management for Long Term Care Professionals

Have you ever thought about why Long Term Care burnout hits differently? There are so many needed professionals in this field and yet we are having a hard time continuing to fill and keeps these rolls. While it is a combination of a fast growing aging and high medical need population worldwide, with not enough young professionals entering the field, it is also because it is emotional hard work.

There is the grief that doesn’t always get addressed because there just “isn’t time” when others need your attention. Or that fact that the physical demands are tough on our own aging staff as well. We all know the professionals who care for our grandparents, spouses, family members all deserve a metal for the everyday emotions and labor they put into this incredibly important job. There are so many factors to why this profession is difficult and doesn’t get the attention it deserves that I would love to address, however, I am going to focus on ways to take care of yourself if you are a healthcare professional in this blog.

What is the signs that you are running on empty? And how do we refill our cup when it feels like we don’t have time to breathe?

Burnout: You might be irritable with your co-workers, dreading your shift, showing signs of physical exhaustion and becoming more emotionally detached from your team and those you’re providing care to. Sometimes we decide to ignore these signs, telling ourselves we don’t have time to address them in the moment. But I am here to tell you that they will catch up with you and your body will let you know in some way or another.

Acceptance: It is really hard when you have been a healthcare professional not to just say, “Oh well, that is just how it is and I need to accept it”. But not accepting the actual fact that you are feeling burnout doesn’t allow you to address it and try some different coping skills that can help you manage your stress so you can continue to do your job. Burnout is not admitting that you quit, it is admitting that the same routine is not working well for you anymore and that you may need to pay attention to your own needs. Even as you are doing your job, you can make some adjustments that can help you, your team, and the people you are taking care of. Burnout is circular, meaning you will have your highs and lows and it will circle back around over time and as situations change in the workplace. It will come and go. Each time it comes, you will keep developing ways to take a break, address it and sustain, becoming more resilient each time to you recongize the patterns.

Tips:

Here are some ways to build in coping skills that will help you each time this comes up. I suggestion you bookmark this blog so that you come back here and read it again when you feel you need a refresher on how to address it.

Lifestyle and Healthy living is addressed in the Vintage Generation membership of this organization as well with downloadables, videos and conversations on how to do so in case you are looking for different tips outside of these few bullet points.

Quick resets actually work:

Box breathing as you walk between rooms - box breathing is counting and being present with inhaling, holding and then letting out your breath and repeating. Typical box breathing looks like 10 count in, 5 count hold, 10 count out, 5 count hold, repeat. Breathing is very important for your brain as we don’t always realize we are holding our breath when we are stressed or have anxiety related to a task. Breathwork clears cortisol from our brain that otherwise keeps us feeling stressed and in survival mode.

5 minute walk outside - Reset your scene for a moment. Fresh air, standing outside or sunlight helps us ground where we are in the moment, but a quick walk helps us with our breathing naturally and gets our blood pumping to bring oxygen to the brain and muscles. When we do this, we increase the healthy chemicals in our brain, flushing out the cortisol. Doing this alone or with a team member can really help you feel more ready to take on your next task.

Journal the small wins - If there are particularly hard tasks or situations that feel like a battle everyday, sometimes taking a moment to journal those small wins when they happen can help you hold onto the feeling of that win and carry the emotion through onto the next task. Some may call this practicing gratitude. When there are many moments through out the day that seem rather difficult, a loss of a resident, a bad interaction with a team member or overall fatigue, journaling or practicing gratitude for the “small wins” can help you overcome the more diffiecult moments.

Boundary Setting without Guilt:

It is very hard to not take the day with you once you clock out, especially when you have become emotionally attached to the people that you take care of or when your staff coordinator is calling you to pick up an extra shift because they are short staffed.

Mentally prepare yourself for your home - As your leaving for the day there have been some really tough things that likely have happened or you are feeling the exhaustion or pain from the physical demands of the day. You either are driving to pick up your children or rushing home to cook or take care of some errands. Having a hard time collecting yourself to focus on what is needed of you. This is normal. We are not built to be machines and our bodies are overextended.

In your car before you begin to drive, try to always leave yourself 5 minutes to repeat some of the tips above, but especially box breathing can be helpful. You can say out loud what it is that is weighing on your mind from your shift to identify the way it makes you feel. Then telling yourself that the next shift will take care of it and you will be back when it is your time to handle the next shift’s duties. Allowing yourself to let go of it and change gears to deal with home responsibilities and especially finding a time to rest.

One thing that helped me when I recognized this was happening to me when I was working in LTC everyday, was to breathe, but then pray over my concerns to let them go. You can practice this too, believing in something bigger than yourself. If you don’t pray, saying some positive words and a release so that you can leave feeling that whatever it may be, it will get handled and you can concentrate on yourself and your family. Then truly giving yourself the permission and boundary to let it go and not pick it back up again.

Calls from the facility shouldn’t go unchecked either. No matter our professional position, we need to give clear boundaries of when we are available for calls, whether it be for scheduling, and issues that needs resolved or just staff calling for advice. We need to and should be clear that emergency calls are need to addressed only by those who have given the permission to be on call and that if it is about staffing, you are clear with the coordinator that you will not be answering the phone during certain activities with your family, giving a clear understanding of when you are available. Reminders are needed often of this when you are on your shift so that it doesn’t get forgotten.

Self-Care routine:

Building a mini self-care routine - Think about things that you like to do, makes you feel good or sounds and smells. Taking 10 minutes to build in something that you enjoy. We often forget to “stop and smell the roses”.

How often do you get through your busy day and realize that you haven’t drank water, listened to music or talked to a friend? This should be a non-negotiable for your self-care. Write down a few things that you really enjoy but don’t get to do or things that you know you are neglecting. You can put a reminder on your phone to stop and take 10 or you can ask a friend to help hold you accountable and have them check in with you and do it together over the phone. We all need to be better connected these days. We also can have a music list ready, an adult coloring book, maybe some verses or quotes to look over. Once you decide this is for me, stick to it. Do a couple of these things a day for 10 minutes and you will see a difference in how you handle work and home. Women are especially susceptible to forgetting to take care of themselves as they often put others before them naturally. Stop now and think of one thing that you can make yourself do that you enjoy for 10 minutes a day. Self-care is anything really that brings you a feeling of joy or accomplishment of caring for yourself.

When to ask for help:

It is hard to admit, but sometimes we all need some help - We should all normalize, that employees may become so burnout, overwhelmed and stressed that there is some need for professional help. We often have times in our lives when home and work are really overlapping and what is happening at home is too much and what is happening at work can also be too much. As leaders in the healthcare field we have a responsibility to make sure that there are programs offered to employees that can help and not hinder. Some EAP programs can be helpful, but are there also peer programs where employees support one another that they may be more willing to attend?

Is there the ability to call into work for a mental health day without being put on the spot or made to feel guilty? The U.S. system of work-life balance, especially in the healthcare field is not always the best example, yet we help people everyday in this field alone with an understanding that we are pouring from our own empty cup. Work with your team to find ways to normalize that it is okay to say “uncle” and tap out when needed and ask for that help. We should not feel ashamed. In order to make it through the long haul, we have to address the here and now to build our own resilience as healthcare is currently taking a hit in the U.S. and we will need to find ways to continue to take care of each other.

I hope this has helped you as each time I work on my own research for these articles it also reminds me to be kind and take care of myself.

-Amanda

Coming soon:

I will be releasing a check off sheet that will help us make sure we are addressing the new 2026 Medicaid and Medicare updates and changes. - stay tuned and log into the Wise Academy membership page to get your downloadable copy of the check off list.

From Curiosity to Passion

You won’t want to miss this conversation with Diana Matthews! Over the years, her keen interest in nature, stillness, breathwork and energy has led to experiences and then to practice. She often teaches about brain health and healthy aging habits in all of her roles along with how important rest and relaxation can play a part in it.

Not only did she develop an interest, she decided to become a Reiki Practitioner and a Forest Bathing Guide. I am excited to learn about what all these practices include and how we might be able to be curious humans, leading us to a new passion, but ancient way to take care of ourselves.

Diana shared some nuggets of wisdom, which I think are very fitting:

“Your life is what you make it. Meaning, if you want joy, be joy. If you want love, be love. If you want peace, be peace. If you want happiness, be happy. Your emotions emit a frequency that attracts like frequencies. Vibrate at the place you want to attract into your life. There is so much research about this. Surround yourself with people who vibrate at the level you want to be. Don’t allow yourself to be around people who pull you down.” - Diana Matthews

*Wise Owl Network is hosting a webinar on Brain Health on April 3rd at 10am, join our membership to gain free access today!

And The Wheel Keeps Turning

I find myself wondering what to tell you and how to keep creating a blog that keeps us all entertained as well as wanting to take care of ourselves. Well, what I can say is that the wheel keeps on turning no matter what happens around us. The world doesn’t stop even when we want to put it on pause. Big things happen, good and bad. Sometimes we want to enjoy special moments just a little longer or we need life to stop for us to understand a devastating loss.

We have all been there at one point, making the hard decision to keep going even when we don’t want to. But what if I was to tell you that resiliency comes from being aware of yourself? We all have things that we don’t know that we don’t know about our own processing of the world around us. We get either so busy, so overwhelmed or we choose to ignore our wellness when we don’t want to invite more to think about.

I have added a way to help us take a first step in looking into our own overall wellness. Joy Harter got us started thinking about spirituality and mental wellbeing and so as we continue that conversation with her, let’s also take a look at the Wellness Wheel and how it can help us become aware of dimensions that we show strength in and what areas may need attention.

I have add some self assessment tools to the membership page along with the 2nd part of my interview with Joy. The only way I can keep bringing you these tools and interviews is if you help me out by joining as a member. Either through the Vintage Generation at $3.99 a month or as a professional, where we unlock other learning tools, though our Wise Academy at $9.99 a month. You can also join me on webinars as well if you are a Vintage Generation member coming up!

Take a look here.

Make Room for Growth

Personal growth comes in many different forms. Growth helps our overall wellbeing and healthy aging habits. After part 1 with my interview with Joy, I reflected on my own spiritual growth and what I have been noticing lately. I am not where I used to be with my own spiritual growth. Maybe it is due to the changes in the world or distraction. I recognize it. I took the time to look up some of the ways I can check in with my own growth and found that there are ways to reflect by asking ourselves some questions about how spiritual we really are.

Within the wellness wheel, we see that there is a space for spiritual wellbeing. So what does that really mean? You can ask yourself with a series of questions and allow yourself to sit back and reflect. That reflection can be fuel to help you recognize yourself in this moment in your life and or it can show your solid in your spiritual wellbeing, even if you didn’t understand what it meant before.

You can take a look here with our Vintage Generation Members for a print out you can download and really reflect.

Lifestyle

Healthy Aging doesn’t come easy when you have built a lifetime of habits, from Grandma’s apple pie recipes full of sugar to believing that retirement means to stop being busy and become stationary at home.

Do you know that it takes quite a lot to create a new habit? Or to dull the old one so that you don’t automatically go to what your brain feels is easy and comfortable? We have so many pathways in our brains leading us to the experiences we have recreated over and over to perfect an action or thought. Such as driving or sitting in our favorite chair and reaching for the remote. Brushing our teeth with the same motion and yes, our negative or positive thought patterns. These are all pathways that we can call “habits”. A connection of brain neurons and synapses that continually fire to get us to the end result. When you played a sport, you were strengthening these pathways. When you stopped, the pathways weakened.

It takes considerable effort to change these pathways once they have been solid for years. That is why, as we age, it seems a bit harder to change a habit. But the difference in the superager is that there is motivation and determination to learn a better way. By this time in our lives, we are learning that we may have neglected our own care and it is time to take care of ourselves. That means learning about a new healthy habit and then applying the practice it to make it solid.

This can take up to 12 weeks to develop strong synapses in the brain. But every single day it will be necessary to practice to keep it up. You are working against forces that were created way back when you were a child. Imagine how strong those pathways are to the smell of grandma’s apple pie baking in the comforts of her home or even to feeling that first drag of a cigarette that you started smoking when you were under-age…

The first step is learning about other options out there and the benefits that they will have for your mind, body and spirit. This helps us connect the awareness to the next step to practice it so over time it will be easier.

For this month we will visit with different healthy habit makers to get to know what they have been doing. They may provide different types of services from therapy to relaxation. But we will take the opportunity to give ourselves new options of how to take care of ourselves as we age and think about what works best for us.

Then, take the next step… and apply it.

Small Steps Create Big Shifts

Lifestyle is not easy to change. So let’s start with one small step. Not big ones. Find one thing that you know you want to work on and break it down into even smaller steps. Set up a visual to remind you every day.

Do not try to change everything all at once! If you are really determined to make a change, I recommend you do two things.

One: Tell a trusted friend who will help hold you accountable. Check in with them regularly.

Two: Track your progress. I know, I know. So many people hate to keep a journal, or document things in one way or another, myself included.

If you are really determined, you have to find a way to allow yourself to process that step that you are taking and find successes. Even the tiny ones. This helps you see the progress that you are making.

Again a reminder, doing too many things at once (I’m preaching to myself here too) can cause you to fail on several things at once. So find that baby step. Take it. Offer yourself praise and not punishment. If you have to start all over again, that is okay. Who cares? We are now able to see that starting over is not the end of the world. We are Superagers. We have experience in this world now that we didn’t have before. We don’t get wrapped up in what others think about us and our personal failures, because we know things pass and move on. So, take that experience and apply it to building your new healthy habit with a calm knowing you can do it, whatever it may be, you can do this.

Turn Intention Into Action

Part 1:

Hear from Joy Harter at Anchored Passages. About her business, helping her community, to sharing about her singing bowls and how their sounds help with calming. Learn what healthy habits she is most proud of to take care of supporting her own healthy aging.

Go to the video here:

https://youtu.be/gdrt-icOd1M