"You have a masterpiece inside you. One unlike any that has ever been created, or ever will be. If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it. Only you.” – Gordon Mackenzie."

What's one of the very best things you can do to lay a foundation for living longer, and enjoying good health and high levels of joy and contentment as well?

You may list features like managing stress; building strong bones, balance and strength; eating well; and having an active lifestyle with lots of yoga.

And all of those things are important, of course. But one of the key factors to healthy aging is rarely highlighted, because it is not linked to any medical markers. It is this:

Having a strong sense of purpose.

Research shows that living with purpose may add years to your life. Indeed, studies have found that older adults living with a clear purpose have a considerably lowered mortality rate. And, importantly, people with a clear purpose also enjoy higher levels of happiness!

Purpose takes many forms. There's the overarching sense of life purpose that shapes our destiny throughout life. And there's the shorter term intentions we set for the goals - however small or large - we want to achieve along that path.

Intention is intimately linked to our power to manifest what we want in life. The ancient yogis referred to the power of intention as Sankalpa, a Sanskrit term that refers to a heartfelt desire, a solemn vow, a firm and quiet resolve to do something.

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