Keep learning to stay young

Learning how to fail in front of others is one of athletics' greatest gifts. Not only can failing help teach a lesson, but as an athlete, you'll never get to learn how to win if you don't fail at first. This mantra is also true for all areas of life and hinges heavily on your ability to learn new things, no matter how difficult, and how much you might hate them.

People avoid exercising because they fear looking foolish, sharing their writing because they fear criticism, and opening their hearts because they fear rejection.

Sport teaches you to confront your fears. Once you learn to do so, you will have overcome one of the greatest obstacles to success and personal development.

Flexibility and adaptability are signs that the mind is active. It can be changed, modified, and given new forms and meanings. You can take responsibility for the change in your mind and commit to the new it can create. As you change, so too does your experience. You may not feel it at first, but as you gain experience you will adapt.

When you practice mental flexibility you're doing something very different from everything that defines the word "fitness". When the mind is set and unyielding, it is dead. It cannot take in new concepts or ideas. It is hard and rigid.

Our minds run the risk of being out-of-date when we lose the ability to adjust, change with the times, accept new ideas, and remodel our preconceived notions. The best thing we can do is learn new things.

Without change, we stagnate. I want to help you keep learning, even as you get older. The best way I've discovered to do this is to let go of the fear of what other people will think of me, and risk rejection to learn new skills.

But first, find something you want to do. Something you're interested in, but feel afraid to try. Then, go ahead and try it.

"The way out of the conundrum of life is to discover what we need to do, to find out what we're not willing to do, to find out what we don't like, and find out what we do like. The rest is just details. We need a new routine – but we also need to breathe." – Wayne Dyer

To be of a renewed mind is to be current with the world around you. It means changing along with time, with the knowledge that if you don't, you remain stagnant and outdated. The best and most successful people in the world have learned to adapt, despite their inner selves, their passions, and their beliefs.

Many people go through life with an outdated mentality. They continue to believe the lies they tell themselves, things like "I am no longer a child to follow the new trendy fad", or "it's a pity because the new technology has now moved into the 'fringe'", or "a fashion is just fashion".

Whatever you may believe in, that thought or idea may be holding you back from the great life experiences you crave. If you can change this belief, you will be able to create a new way of being, with a different outlook and vision for the future.

You are as old as the knowledge you held in your mind yesterday. This knowledge no longer controls your life, but merely directs your actions.

With an outdated mindset, you become stagnant. With an 'open mind', you're taking in new information and ideas, as you change, move, and become a new you.

Knowledge is never static. You learn new things every single day. And when you change, it's not just that the new things are new, but that you know that you have changed, and it makes you think younger and fresher.

New information is never static. It changes. You can no longer believe that you know the same thing as you did yesterday. The old has passed away, and a new world has arisen. This is the world we now live in, and it's always changing.

"As a man thinks in his heart so he is", and what you stored in your mind is what direct actions and behavior. It's the same mind that does not accept the reality that you should no longer wear the same clothes as you did yesterday.

Understanding is the foundation of being able to change. The more you understand about your mind, the more that you understand about the world around you, and the more open to change you are, the more you will transform your life.

We can be younger all the days of our lives, not because we do not grow older but because we take on a new mind, a mind of abundance and harmony, and we become one with the changes that occur.

You must change, not just for yourself, but to be able to help other people. Learning is a force for good.

Therefore, learn. Never stop learning. It is impossible to learn everything there is to know about life in one lifetime, but you can commit yourself to learn as much as you can from every source, and this keeps you relevant and younger in mind, body and spirit.

Read, Study, Listen, Observe. Keep your mind healthy and younger.