“My life is healthy, and it’s designed to be healthy, - Szekely says. – At the age of 102 you can’t say, ‘Well, I’ll make an exception here and exception there.’ I don’t make exceptions. I enjoy my healthy life.” Here are some tips from Szekely that will help you live a long and happy life.
On working at the age of 102
“I would be very, very sad if I didn’t feel like I was helping people live better lives, - the centenarian says. - It makes a difference, and they tell me that.”
“When I have breakfast on the terrace in front of the dining room [at the resort she owns], there’s always something wonderful that people come up to me and say. They all come to greet me, and I’m there to be greeted. So they are happy, and I am happy,” Szekely says.
“When nature says, ‘You need to stop Deborah,’ Deborah will stop, but until then, she’ll keep going.”
On mindfulness and gratitude
“I don’t really meditate. No. I meditate in action, in walking, in doing things. My life is a meditation. I don’t focus on the negative,” Szekely says.
“I count my blessings, and I am so blessed. It’s very easy. I could spend the whole day and the whole night counting millions of blessings.”
On friendship
“If you call them in the middle of the night and say, ‘Help!’ and they are in their car within five minutes, those are the kind of friends that matter.”
“Friendship is understanding and helping your friends. You know, good books and movies and things we can do together.”
On regrets
“I don’t believe in looking back. I look forward. I don’t say, ‘Oh, well, I wish I had done this or that.’ That’s a game. It doesn’t give me any strength or energy. I’d rather read a book than look back.”
“Don’t waste your time looking back. There’s nothing you can do about it, it’s done. Look forward and expect what you want.”
On dreams
“Don’t give up on your dreams. Let your dreams flow. And achieve as many of them as possible and have friends who will join in on those dreams. It’s more fun with friends.”
Former pharma CEO I. Roy Cohen is now 101 years old. He is fit, healthy and manages his own finances. Cohen says that over the decades he has learned a number of lessons about longevity. According to him, you need to be ambitious, work on relationships, walk in the fresh air and stick to a Mediterranean diet.
Photos are from open sources.
