I’ve been thinking a bit about what gets you out of bed as you get older. If you don’t have a reason to get up, then why get up at all? We need something that gets us up, right? Whatever that is, it needs some type of plan, and you need to think about how you are in control of what you do during the day. Of course, there are other outside influences that will play a factor too. But it’s a big question to think about. Some might call this a goal or purpose. 

Honestly, I’ve given up on setting a goal or finding my purpose — it feels so pie in the sky. When I ask my clients these questions, I get crickets, or the standard “I want to be fitter” or “lose some weight.” I don’t believe these words resonate anymore. We need something that pulls us forward and meets us where we’re at. We want to feel connected, like it’s doable, with a little challenge on the side. It absolutely has to be something that matters in our life. 

That “what’s your goal” question got put in front of me recently, and it cracked wide open. 

I volunteered to do some PT sessions with a group of high school kids fresh out of their Cert III and IV in fitness. Suddenly I wasn’t the coach — I was the client. The learner. And it was nerve-racking in exactly the way it is for anyone walking into a gym for the first time. Can I do this? What are they going to throw at me? Am I going to look stupid? All the honest-to-goodness things we feel and rarely admit to. 

They asked me the question. What’s your goal? And my head went — okay, what do I actually want to achieve? They had categories to sort the answer into, and mine landed squarely on two: power and strength. 

Power, for me, means being reactive enough that if I do go to fall, my mind and body can catch it — get low, get my hands out, stop myself from breaking something on the way down. Strength means being able to lift the mattress to change the sheets, keep hanging out the washing, do the everyday physical things you take completely for granted until the day you can’t. Yes, it’s the boring stuff. You probably still want to travel, play with the grandkids or the furry family, and that’s lovely and all — but can you get down on the floor and pick up the dog to take it to the vet? 

That’s the realistic approach that seems to show up once you hit your sixties. You hear yourself make a grunting noise that used to be reserved for your mother, and you think, oh god, when did that start? You notice an extra creak. You notice you’re sitting more than you used to. 

Purpose is what pulls you forward. It’s asking yourself what you want to be able to do that you currently can’t, and if you can’t do it now, how you’re going to change that — because you’re going to need it eventually. For me, that’s sharing my life — the good, the bad, and the ugly — with women going through this, so they don’t feel alone in the changes they’re experiencing as they age. That’s what gets me out of bed. 

Plan is what happens once you’re honest about what’s changed and what’s ahead of you. Maybe you can’t get as low in a squat as you used to. Maybe you’re using the kitchen cupboard to pull yourself up. Maybe you’re putting a hand behind you before you sit on the toilet. Whatever it is for you, your plan needs to be specific, and able to be done when life gets in the road. 

For me, it’s my ankles. Twenty-odd years in this industry, a lot of jumping and impact, a couple of foot fractures along the way — my ankles aren’t as mobile as they should be, and that’s directly why I can’t get as deep into a squat anymore. It’s also my hips. I love writing more as I’ve gotten older, and that means I’m sitting more, and I’ve noticed exactly what that’s doing to my hip mobility. So I’ve built in mobility work — ankles, hips, shoulders — in small chunks. I don’t need to find an hour. I need five minutes, a few times a day, aimed at exactly what my body is telling me. 

Control is putting that plan into action. I get up, still half asleep, and do my mobility routine — by the time I’m finished, which only takes ten minutes, I’m actually awake and ready for the day. When I go for a walk, I’ve got extra shoulder movements built in. When I sit, I do ankle and hip moves throughout the day. It’s not one big overhaul. It’s picking up what’s mine to pick up, right now, today.