Midweek Motivator: The Aging Mastery Program — Let’s take control of our futures – Brainerd Dispatch

Imagine giving this advice to someone: take it easy, focus only on you, sleep a lot, just get by financially, watch plenty of TV, don’t worry about exercising or eating right, and forget about making long-term plans. It sounds foolish, doesn’t it?

Yet, some view retirement as a time of leisure and hobbies with little focus on the future. For others, health and financial issues limit their ability to do the things they would like and make the future challenging.

The Aging Mastery Program, sponsored by Crow Wing Energized, provides a fun, practical framework to think about various aspects of your life and your future. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) created The Aging Mastery Program to help participants learn about aging well across the topics listed below. They use that knowledge to take small steps or make small behavior changes to improve their lives, and to make connections as well as build relationships within the class and in their community.

Over the course of ten weeks, expert speakers cover the following topics:

• Gratitude and mindfulness — learn how to foster an attitude that sees the good around you as well as paying attention to what you want out of life
• Healthy eating and exercise — learn how to take small, simple steps to improve your food choices, hydration, and as well as the benefits of movement
• Sleep — learn what prevents it and what you can do to get a better night’s rest 
• Financial health and advance planning — learn tips and tricks for financial stability including wills, health care directives, fraud prevention and online security
• Healthy relationships — learn what healthy relationships look like, how to foster them and carve out relationships that work
• Medication management and falls prevention — learn about managing medications as well as how to keep your home safe to prevent falls
• Community engagement — learn about opportunities to volunteer and get involved in your community
• Purpose and legacy — think about the impact you want to have on your friends, causes and communities

Would you like to take control and plan the life you want to live? Our next 10-week series starts Feb. 4 and meets once a week virtually on Zoom from 6-7:30 p.m. These classes are free but pre-registration is required. To sign up, visit the Crow Wing Energized website:

and find The Aging Mastery Program in the list of upcoming events. You must have access to Zoom on your computer, iPad, or smartphone to participate. Class materials will be mailed out from Crow Wing Energized prior to the start of the class.

Crow Wing Energized was founded with the mission to “Improve health and wellness in our community by making the healthy choice the easy choice.” We know this is best accomplished when we work together to improve our communities, which is why we also recognize the works of other organizations and programs in our Midweek Motivator article. We want to connect readers to services, events, organizations, and resources that promote healthy living as well as healthy and productive workplaces. If you are interested in learning more about Crow Wing Energized and our upcoming classes and events visit

CrowWingEnergized.org

. You can also stay updated by following Crow Wing Energized on Facebook and Instagram.