¿QUÉ SON LOS HÉROES DEL ENVEJECIMIENTO?
Las representaciones de los medios de comunicación de las personas que pasan por la segunda mitad de la vida son abrumadoramente negativas. Nos caracterizamos por ser menos atractivos, menos brillantes, menos capaces y, en última instancia, menos relevantes que nuestros homólogos más jóvenes. Considere con qué frecuencia el envejecimiento se asocia con ser lento, enfermizo, frágil, olvidadizo o necesitado. Tales estereotipos tienden a enterrarse en nuestras mentes inconscientes y convertirse en profecías autocumplidas. Afortunadamente, con introspección y un esfuerzo consciente, podemos desarraigar los mitos destructivos y aceptar la realidad de que envejecer puede ser una aventura increíble que afirma la vida.
La diferencia entre un héroe que envejece y la persona promedio se puede capturar en una palabra: coraje. Los héroes se definen por el coraje y la nobleza de carácter. Los héroes que envejecen tienen el valor de despotricar contra los límites de las actitudes convencionales. Aprovechamos las oportunidades para crear significado en nuestras vidas y mejorar las vidas de los demás. Los prisioneros de las construcciones sociales de la cultura moderna ignoran por completo que la clave de la libertad está siempre al alcance de la mano. Esa clave es el valor para salir de los roles asignados y vivir auténticamente. En un mundo tan a menudo gobernado por el miedo y la negatividad, los héroes que envejecen contemplan el futuro con confianza, entusiasmo y asombro.
Aging Heroes es un estilo de vida. Adóptelo mientras navega por las aguas emocionales, intelectuales, sociales, espirituales y físicas de la edad adulta media y tardía. Tu estilo de vida se expresa en todo lo que haces. Tu trabajo, hábitos, actitudes, elecciones, cómo interactúas con los demás y lo que haces para divertirte son todas expresiones de tu estilo de vida. Como un héroe que envejece, estas expresiones caen en un ritmo armonioso que fluye de tu yo más verdadero y genuino. Sin embargo, una advertencia justa, este viaje no es para todos. Requiere un compromiso profundo para ir más allá del statu quo. El arrepentimiento número uno de los moribundos es que no vivieron vidas fieles a sí mismos, sino que trataron de ajustarse a lo que los demás esperaban de ellos. Los héroes que envejecen se niegan a ser definidos por otros. Creamos vidas marcadas por el autodescubrimiento, la aventura, el servicio y el crecimiento personal.
El viejo dicho, "el todo es más que la suma de sus partes", es fundamental para el credo de Aging Heroes. Piensa en un delicioso pastel de chocolate. El pastel es más que los huevos, la harina, el azúcar, el cacao y la mantequilla utilizados para hacerlo. Con la ayuda del panadero, el pastel ha surgido a partir de estos ingredientes como algo completamente diferente. Eres, igualmente, más que tu cuerpo físico, más que tus pensamientos, más que tus experiencias y más que tus relaciones. Emerges de todos ellos como una entidad singular y en constante transformación.
Los componentes que te crean son dinámicos. Es decir, están constantemente interactuando entre sí. Estas interacciones dan como resultado el cambio y el progreso que experimentas en tu vida. Del mismo modo, tú mismo eres un componente dinámico de un sistema mayor. ¡Tus interacciones con el entorno que te rodea influyen en última instancia en el cambio y el progreso en el mundo! Desmond Tutu dijo: “Haz tu pequeño bien donde estás. Son esos pequeños pedazos de bien juntos los que abruman al mundo”.
Todo está interconectado. Las personas, cosas y eventos en su vida lo afectan como usted, a su vez, los afecta a ellos. En mi familia, hablamos de cómo los estados de ánimo pueden ser contagiosos. Si una persona en nuestra casa está irritable, el resto de nosotros pronto hará lo mismo. Cada acción que tomas en la vida crea una onda en el tejido del todo. La acción puede causar una pequeña onda, como cuando alguien te hace un pequeño favor y tú se lo devuelves a los demás. O puede causar una gran onda que impacte la historia, como cuando Rosa Parks eligió sentarse en la parte delantera del autobús.
De ti, de mí, de Erica y de otros como nosotros surge Aging Heroes. Somos obras en progreso, en constante mejora. A medida que asumimos los desafíos de esta búsqueda, también creamos ondas positivas que afectan al mundo que nos rodea. Al vivir nuestras mejores vidas, encendemos esa pasión en los demás.
What Are Folks Saying About Our Book? See for Yourself
“A Guide for Aging Heroes” was an absolute pleasure to read. It immediately appeals to the reader on the personal, physical, social and spiritual levels. And the Guide skillfully interweaves these dimensions with sage advice and powerful, positive energy. Schwarting and Harrison pull no punches and speak with the authority derived from dealing with formidable life experiences. Their exhaustive research and heartfelt human connection provides a hopeful, holistic picture for all of us, wherever we may be on the human journey.
~Michael Fletcher, author of To Hunt a Holy Man
Anchored by a transformationalist mindset of optimism and momentum, A GUIDE FOR AGING HEROES: 30 Days to Owning the Second Half of Life is a revelatory reading experience. The prose is thoughtful and engaging, the insights plentiful and truthful. For those of us at whom this book is squarely aimed, the well-structured segments require a healthy dose of self-reflection to properly navigate, but the rewards are well worth the effort. The book is disarmingly honest about our faults, but courageously hopeful about our power to overcome them.
~David Buzan, author of In the Lair of Legends
A Guide for Aging Heroes: 30 Days to Owning the Second Half of Life is by husband-and-wife team Randolph C. Harrison and Erica Schwarting, who define themselves as being “on the back end of middle age.” Viewing themselves as aging heroes, Harrison and Schwarting wish to encourage others heading on in years to become just as enthusiastic about life as they are, creating “emotional prosperity” for themselves by embarking on a meaningful journey of becoming emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, and physical heroes. By viewing life as “a terrific, life-affirming adventure,” they wish us to lose any negativities regarding our aging existence and to become renewed and affirmed within ourselves. In short, they challenge us to live more and more authentically, day by day.
I love the practical and extremely positive approach of Randolph C. Harrison’s and Erica Schwarting’s A Guide for Aging Heroes, which is full of pointers as to how we can improve our lifestyle and behavior to maximize the potential that each day offers us. Harrison’s recovery from a diagnosis of COPD required his adopting various helpful strategies, which he shares with us in an overwhelmingly supportive and motivational way. In showing us how “generativity is the hallmark of success in mid-life,” he encourages us to be empathetic and kind to one another. The quotations of other positive and proactive people included throughout the text reinforce the approach taken by Harrison and Schwarting, so that, in grasping the significance of this work, we are led almost inevitably to realize that this is the approach that we should adopt to access a fulfilling and satisfying future. A well-written and inspiring text, filled with mature insights garnered from a lifetime of experience, A Guide for Aging Heroes is well worth consideration by anyone heading into the second half of their lives.
Review Rating: 5 Stars
~Lois Henderson for Readers’ Favorite
Guide for Aging Heroes: Owning the Second Half of Life in 30 Days by Randolph Harrison with Erica Schwarting is a journey of self-discovery with this insightful and transformative guide to living an authentic, mindful, and happy life. Harrison aims to help readers say goodbye to negative thoughts, procrastination, and self-doubt, as he helps readers learn to become the aging hero of their own story. With a detailed day-to-day plan, this book is an excellent guide that will help you navigate through your fears and harmful thought patterns using powerful strategies from cognitive behavior therapy and personal experiences shared by the author.
This philosophical guide encourages readers to become active players while accepting their reality. At the same time, the author emboldens readers to never give up on the eternal journey of learning as an individual. Courage doesn’t mean fearlessness, but it means pushing toward a goal, despite setbacks and fears. The book is packed with motivational messages, inspiring quotes from great personalities, and enlightening ideas to develop inner courage and take positive action.
I enjoyed discovering the transformative power of this book, with short exercises at the end of each chapter. The signposts will lead you on a spiritual journey and help you overcome life’s challenges with renewed confidence, ease, and grace. The author connects with his readers by sharing personal anecdotes, life trials, tribulations, and life-changing events that he experienced while offering an actionable roadmap to managing your moods, emotions, and perception of a fulfilling life.
A Guide for Aging Heroes: Owning the Second Half of Life in 30 Days by Randolph Harrison with Erica Schwarting will help readers take control of their life. It’s a beautiful guide that will show you how to live a life of purpose and meaning.
Review Rating: 5/5
~Thomas Anderson, Editor In Chief for Literary Titan
How many of you want to give the mid-life crisis the boot? If you want to join me in fighting society’s images of aging, then pick up A Guide for Aging Heroes: 30 Days to Owning the Second Half of Life by Randolph Harrison, M.Ed., with Erica Schwarting. The authors offer those of us who have left youth behind a comprehensive guide to living our best life despite the successes and failures that have defined us to date. This guide is written in a daily devotional style that addresses every area of life, from health and wellness to relationships, as well as establishing personal meaning and creativity.
Few of us visualize what I call the “sagging middle” of life. We graduate from school, pursue our goals, and then work toward retirement. What about your 40’s and 50’s? I’m convinced that the depression that leads to crises in these middle years stems from a lack of vision and purpose in this season in life, combined with the failures that have sidetracked us from our youthful goals. We don’t take failure into account when developing long-range vision, but Randolph Harrison and Erica Schwarting give sound advice based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, science, research, and personal experience to guide readers through the confusion and into a new vision for the future. A Guide for Aging Heroes is a great devotional guide that’s short, easy to read, easy to follow, and easy to relate to. I think this should be a required to gift for everybody on their 40th birthday – and required reading to conquer life when it matters the most.
Harrison and Schwarting wish to encourage others heading on in years to become just as enthusiastic about life as they are, creating “emotional prosperity” for themselves by embarking on a meaningful journey of becoming emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, and physical heroes. By viewing life as “a terrific, life-affirming adventure,” they wish us to lose any negativities regarding our aging existence and to become renewed and affirmed within ourselves.
Rating: 5 Stars
~Sherri Fulmer Moorer for Readers’ Favorite
A Guide for Aging Heroes: 30 Days to Owning the Second Half of Life by Randolph Harrison, M.Ed., co-created with Erica Schwarting, is a self-improvement manual for people over the age of 40. The guide aims to break the stereotypes of aging and advises patience and boldness in reaching your goals. The author encourages readers to involve their loved ones in the journey because they can help you through the process. He also gives the characteristics of an aging hero and explains the mental, spiritual, and physical transformation exercises a person needs to undergo to become one. When applied correctly, you will find that the strategies provided will break down the barriers created by past childhood and relationship trauma. Discover the benefits of living a joyful life, investing in experiences, and becoming an aging hero.
Well-researched and scientifically tested, A Guide for Aging Heroes is what you need right now to brighten your life. Randolph Harrison, M.Ed., uses life experiences including depression, bullying, family, and love to explain his theories. His honesty helps the reader to relate to him. I appreciated that he worked on this project with his wife, Erica Schwarting, because she gives a different perspective to the book. We have different lives and traumas, but one thing is for sure, we all want to be happy. This guide is aimed at people over the age of 40, but I think it can still apply to readers below this age. It is never too earlier to make a positive change in your life. Apart from the enlightening quotes, the book also contains diagrams and provides practical steps, which makes it easy to understand and execute. Begin your journey to a happier and more fulfilled life by reading this book today.
Rating: 5 Stars
~Luwi Nyakansaila for Readers’ Favorite
This book was truly amazing. It was a real guideline that encouraged growth, peace, and happiness. This gives me hope for a better life as I get older instead of the picture most of the world paints, which makes us regret aging. I plan to share this with others in my family, and I really think it will help them live as Aging Heroes.
I love the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. It really gave me something more to meditate on. The notebook activities were very helpful, and I'm glad they decided to add that. It made me feel more involved rather than just being told what to do. It was great to not just put their thoughts, but they added more things for everyone to relate like when they spoke about different religious beliefs on transforming. They shared their personal plans to show they aren't just saying this but actually doing it and that showed me a lot. The charts inside were helpful for those who are visual and then went into detail about the pros and cons of situations and fully explained all sides. This book is beyond life-changing. It allowed me to take a look at my life and make the necessary changes.
Highly recommend this to all who are looking to better themselves and their lives. If you take this book seriously and put in the work, you will become an Aging Hero.
~ Dog-Eared Reviews