Zeap: 50 Nuggets for Navigating the Second Half of Life

By Daisy Saunders

Positive or healthy aging is a choice. Whether you start at thirty, forty, fifty, or you’re just getting started (at sixty or seventy), it’s never too late—or too early—to develop healthy lifestyle habits and other anti-aging strategies that slow down and even enhance the aging process. This book of nuggets shares some of the secrets of women who zestfully embraced the aging process while shattering many of the stereotypes associated with aging. It shows you how to enter the second half of life with confidence, style, and grace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Apr 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781480889576

Daisy Saunders

Daisy Saunders writes and speaks on positive/healthy aging and personal empowerment. She also teaches Zumba® (a dance fitness program that combines Latin and international music with dance moves) to older active adults and people with mobility challenges. Saunders is the author of Big Eyes… Big Eyedeas for Achieving Optimum Success in Business and in Life. She lives in Sarasota, Florida.

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Copyright © 2020 Daisy Saunders.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-8956-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-8957-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020905434

Archway Publishing rev. date: 04/11/2020

Contents

Foreword

Thoughts on Positive Aging

50 Nuggets to Zeap

1 Adjust your mindset

2 Embrace your age

3 Live with purpose

4 Live with passion

5 Live consciously

6 Love your life

7 Live your life with gusto

8 Know and believe in yourself

9 Value and appreciate yourself

10 Love and accept yourself for who you are

11 Ask for what you want

12 Protect your most valuable resource

13 Say no

14 Be thankful

15 Don’t complain

16 Exercise your brain

17 Protect and feed your mind and body

18 Smile

19 Laugh hard, laugh often, and laugh out loud

20 Use humor to lighten your emotional load

21 Enthusiastically embrace each day

22 Stay interested in life

23 Don’t believe everything you hear—or think

24 Read

25 Don’t worry, be happy

26 Be a possibility thinker

27 Simplify your life

28 Practice wellness

29 Make regular exercise a top priority

30 Train for strength

31 Stretch

32 Eat consciously

33 Eat to live; not live to eat

34 Make wise and healthy food choices

35 Drink water

36 Drink alcohol in moderation, if you drink

37 Establish and stick to a beauty regimen

38 Stay out of the sun

39 Keep your teeth healthy and happy

40 Put your best foot forward

41 Stand up straight

42 Pay attention to your body

43 Get some shut-eye

44 Connect…Maintain positive social connections

45 Nurture right relationships

46 Journal…Write it down

47 Mind your money

48 Give back

49 Look for the good in others

50 Never stop learning

30-Second Elevator Speech

Favorite Quotes on Aging

Dedication

This book is dedicated to women who want to enjoy the second half of their life with qualities that are ageless—qualities guaranteed to make us attractive at any age. These qualities include personal traits such as confidence, elegance, style, grace, warmth, humor, wisdom, compassion, and resilience, to name a few.

It’s dedicated to those everyday, ordinary, hardworking women who shared some small piece of information regarding their secret to aging gracefully. These were women who exuded the qualities and traits mentioned above; women who zestfully embraced the aging process—ZEAP. Some of these women I know personally; others I only heard of or read about.

Thank you for these nuggets.

This book is also dedicated to my friend Bob Sharps, who after reading my first draft observed that many of the nuggets applied to men as well. He questioned why the book was only dedicated to women.

So, to my friend, Bob…thank you for your support and for always showing an interest in my work.

Foreword

Style is a reflection of your attitude and your personality.

—Shawn Ashmore

Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.

—Rachel Zoe

NEVER NIPPED, TUCKED, NOR ‘TOXED’! Yet, here I am at age 82 (and a half) living life like it’s golden.

I met Daisy in 1992 while attending my first National Speakers Convention held in Orlando, Florida. We were both there for the same reason: to network and learn ways to take our public speaking career to another level.

As a person who has lived a rich and fulfilling life —both personally and professionally, I can unequivocally say that this book of nuggets is priceless. There is something for everyone —regardless of age. It is a feel good book. It made me feel young, refreshed, energized. It is a roadmap for the young and a reminder for the old. For example, it reminded me of habits acquired over a lifetime that led to label myself as HIP, meaning that I am Healthy, Interesting, and Powerful; a label that we all, especially young women, should strive for.

In addition to these priceless small pieces of valuable information (nuggets), there are several things I love about the content and design of this book.

• It’s easy to read; written in a language that everyone —regardless of age —can digest and understand.

• It’s a clear message to young people (in their thirties, forties, fifties) on how to zestfully embrace the aging process (ZEAP) in order to make sure that the second half of life is filled with fun, excitement, and unlimited opportunities and possibilities.

• This book contains 50 nuggets to live by — all assembled in one place. There are even nuggets within the nuggets. You can pick and choose. As Daisy states in her introduction, It’s not necessary to embrace every single nugget, just the ones that resonate with you and that, based on your lifestyle, are doable.

• The Think on This section at the end of each nugget makes you reflect on how you have lived your life —up to this point. It challenged me to reflect; to think deeply about how I can continue to ZEAP although I am already in the second half of my life; living my best, authentic life.

For most of my adult life, I have lived by many of the nuggets shared in this book. However, these eight are especially dear to me, and I encourage others, especially young women to embrace: 11 (Ask for what you want), 14 (Be thankful), 15(Don’t complain), 29 (Make regular exercise a top priority), 30 (Train for strength), 31(Stretch) and 41(Stand up straight).

As the result of my being the tallest girl or boy in the class during a time when being a tall girl was not fashionable, the message to stand up straight, to stand erect, was permanently ingrained in me by my mother. From her, I learned —at an early age —to proudly flaunt my height.

I was honored when Daisy asked me to write the Foreword, even more so when she gave me the liberty to add a nugget of my own. Therefore, to this wonderful book, I add nugget 51: Find and develop your personal style.

Positive agers have style; they know that without style, a person is boring, dull, uninteresting —even though they may be wearing a top brand or the latest fashion. When I talk about style, I am referring to that which makes you stand out; makes you uncommon; makes others notice and remember