H ow many times have you been told to act your age? My betting is that as soon as you were old enough to understand what age was, you were told to grow up and act your age! And then, as you matured, you started telling yourself that you either shouldn't or couldn't do something because "it's childish and you should act your age".

With that in mind, is it surprising that so many of us experience accelerated ageing, growing old before our time?

Age Is Just A Number

Age is nothing more than a means of measuring of the number of years we've resided on this planet. That's it - nothing more and nothing less.

Sure, age can give an indication as to what the state of our physical and mental health might be, but it's far from a foolproof method. Just think of the likes of Joan Collins and Olivia Newton-John, or Cliff Richard and Paul Newman. Do their chronological ages give a true indication of their fitness or abilities? No, absolutely not.

How many 50 year olds do you know who are 'older' than Joan Collins or Cliff Richard? Or even 40 year olds who are 'older' than Olivia Newton John? Not to mention 60 year olds who are 'older' than Paul Newman at 80! Doesn't that prove that age is nothing more than a number that says little, if anything, about who we are and what we're capable of? Although nobody can stop the ageing process entirely, how old we appear and how well we can enjoy our lives is largely down to how we feel about ourselves.

A Youthful Attitude Requires Maturity

Contrary to what some believe, youthful people rarely suffer from Peter Pan syndrome. They aren't immature, irresponsible children living in adult bodies, they're people with a mature outlook on life but who choose to nurture their ability to live life to the full rather than sit back and use the ageing process as an excuse to do nothing.

You'll never hear youthful people say "you can't expect somebody my age to be able to do..." or anything similar. If they choose to decline from doing something it's because they have no interest in it, plain and simple. Age isn't something they see as a viable excuse.

Similarly they'd never force themselves into doing something just to flaunt their youthfulness; experience has taught them that they don't need affirmation from others in order to feel satisfied with their lives.

Cosmetic Surgery isn't The Answer

Having access to cosmetic surgery isn't the key to remaining youthful, either. You can have as many face-lifts as you like but if your mind isn't fresh and vibrant, you'll always appear old. Youthfulness comes from within. When you think young you'll automatically act young. The knock on affect of which will be that others perceive you as being younger than your years would suggest.

Stay in touch with today's trends. While nobody's suggesting you dress like a teenager there's nothing quite as embarrassing as "mutton dressed as lamb" by wearing what's now rather than what you wore ten years ago and keeping up with today's music and technological advances, you'll knock years off how you look and feel. An anti-ageing technique that requires nothing more than the right attitude has to be a good thing, surely?

Check Your Age

Next time somebody asks you how old you are, don't tell them. Instead, ask them how old they think you are. If you're pleased with the answer then your mindset is obviously tuned in to being youthful. If their guess is closer to your actual age than you're happy with then it's time to reassess your attitude.

You ARE only as old as you feel.

Sharon Jacobsen is a freelance writer living in South Cheshire, England with her partner and however many of her children happen to be living at home at any given time.

If you'd like Sharon to write competitively priced, well researched and compelling articles for your website, newsletter or print media, please contact her at http://www.sharon-jacobsen.co.uk The subject matter is open although she's most at home writing about human relationships and self-improvement and social issues.