don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

A while ago, I reviewed Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip and Dan Heath.  The authors describe six principles that make a message memorable. The six principles can be summarized in a single sentence: "Create messages that are simple, unexpected, concrete, credentialed and contain an emotional story." That's it. How hard can that be? I have a speech coming up. I'd like to organize my remarks by explaining the idea of aging well using these six principles.

Principle One: Simplicity
(The Heath brothers suggest stripping an idea to its core. They say "prioritize and create simple and profound proverbs," like the Golden Rule.)

OK, here is my idea, stripped to its core, prioritized and served with my own original proverb:

Aging is easy. It requires no special effort. We do it naturally. In fact, it can't be avoided. However, aging WELL is hard. It takes a LOT of effort. It's not natural. Aging well is not only hard - it's rare.

Ok, maybe that's a little more complex than "do under others as you would have them do unto you (Who says "unto" anymore?) or "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask..." but I'm new at this.

Although aging well is rare, the evidence suggests it can be done. If you manage to do it, your life will not only be healthier; it will be more enjoyable, more economical (in other words, you'll save on medical bills) and a lot less annoying than the alternative of falling apart, little by little and bit by bit, until you die prematurely.

Finally, to complete the first "sticking" principle, here are two proverbs I'll ask my audience to consider:

1. If most people could know, while still young, how they're going to look and feel when they age into the middle years, they would take better care of themselves.
   
2. Life is short. Eating dessert first is NOT the only sensible option.

The other sensible option is to age well, starting long before "aging" sets in.

Principle Two: Unexpectedness
(To get an audience to pay attention, the Heaths recommend violating expectations. Describe something that is counterintuitive.)

OK, how's this: The payoffs of aging well are almost too good to be true. That's why I have entitled my new book on this topic Aging Beyond Belief. Well, that's one reason. Another is I urge readers not to take my advice, or anything else, on faith or belief, but to look for evidence while thinking critically.

The evidence that you can age well is there, as I demonstrate in the book. Aging well is an investment in your future that will pay handsomely in years to come.

And now, here comes the unexpectedness part -- where I violate your expectations by telling you what is counterintuitive.

The chances that you will successfully age beyond belief are slim to none.

It's simply too hard to maintain a REAL wellness lifestyle. Genetics work against it, most underestimate how much time aging well requires, our culture is not supportive and other obstacles add to the difficulty of sustaining good intentions. (Not that everyone has good intentions -- most people don't think much about organizing their lives in order to age well.)

Ok, those are two of the six sticky principles. To summarize: 1) Age well - the payoffs are great and 2) the odds are against you if you try. 

Principle Three: Concreteness
(The key to concreteness is to communicate ideas as human actions, favoring sensory information. Jargon must be avoided (for example, skip references to mission statements, synergies, strategies and visions) that often seem meaningless. Concrete images can be seen in numerous memorable urban legends (the one about the guy who wakes up in an ice-filled bathtub with a missing kidney after an attempted assignation with a mysterious paramour, for instance). 

This could be tough in a speech on aging well. 

Let's see...how about this? If you want to age well, you need to think about getting at least 23 DBRU equivalents every day! I'll describe what DBRU equivalents are -- you can read about the concept here: http://www.seekwellness.com/wellness/articles/DRBUs.htm.

Whenever you think about this recommendation, you will surely remember the concreteness of the images that DBRUs evoke, and hopefully what I say about how and why to pursue at least 23 daily DBRUs, as well.

I'm almost there: 1) Age well - the payoffs are great and 2) the odds are against you if you try; and 3) ponder the image and meaning of Gary Larson's famous "Far Side" cartoon.

Principle Four: Credibility
People are more likely to embrace wellness ideas if believable images are conveyed that give the appeals a convincing stature. Memorable phrases (for example, "Before you vote, ask yourself if you are better off today than you were four years ago") can do the trick.

This sticking point can get personal. Think of those you know who are aging well and those who are not. Note the vastly greater number in the latter category. Now ask yourself: What kind of trajectory are YOU following? If you don't think you are headed down the right path, how do you plan to change things?

I'm on a roll: 1) Age well - the payoffs are great and 2) the odds are against you if you try; 3) ponder the image and meaning of Gary Larson's famous "Far Side" cartoon and enjoy life every day; and 4) recall the positive and negative models of aging and act now to emulate to a greater degree than ever the former.

I'll complete this explanation of "aging well" by applying the final two principles for a sticky message in the next installment of this DR.

Enjoy. Look on the bright side.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of appearance and aging. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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