Members who could not attend the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center’s annual meeting on May 12 missed a great speaker.

John Barnett, author of “How to Feel Good as You Age,” gave the overflow crowd in attendance a good deal to think about as he peppered his talk with some hands-on exercises and quotations to prove his points.

“If you want things to stay the same, something has to change,” Barnett told the group.

He quoted Tolstoy, who expressed it this way:

“Everyone thinks of changing humanity, but no one thinks of changing themselves.”

According to Barnett, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. We need to challenge ourselves.

Orson Marden was making this point in the 19th century when he said, “The problem with most of us is that we make so few demands on ourselves – life is not a spectator sport.”

Barnett, a cancer survivor, challenged himself to write a book. He needed to make time to do this, which required figuring out what he could cut out of his usual routine to make room for the writing.

He said an air of contentment swept over him as he wrote because he visualized his destination. He pictured himself presenting the book to the doctor he would dedicate it to.

Visualizing is important. As Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you may not get there.”

Some of what Barnett advised, most of us know.

Many psychologists tell us it is important to have a good social network – if you don’t have one, volunteer. Physical exercise improves the mind as well as the body, so get moving. Board games and puzzles are good for us. But his presentation went beyond these surface points into the why and the how to keep ourselves feeling good as we age.

Barnett’s plan for avoiding or delaying dementia was threefold. First is physical exercise. Establish an activity program for yourself. Take an exercise class, join a sport team, walk. (All of these options are available at the senior center).

Second on Barnett’s list is neurobics, activities that help create new pathways in the brain. For a demonstration of this, he had the audience perform different exercises using their least dominant hands. If right-handed, write your name with your left hand. Use your least dominant hand to fold a piece of paper into a fan one-handed and fan yourself with it. Crumble the paper into a ball with that same hand and throw it.

Third on the list are the activities that strain our brain: board games, puzzles, classes. Life-long learning is good for the mind. (Again, all of these activities are also available at the senior center).

Barnett had another important suggestion: examine your civic engagement. Being involved keeps a person viable. Take care of your health, but aim for more than longevity – aim for non-disability longevity. What good are the years if we can’t enjoy them?

Barnett’s motivating presentation was preceded by the business of the annual meeting. Director Jane Allan and Board President Tom Kilbane delivered the 2007 annual report and Reid Hansen presented the nominees for the board of directors, who were unanimously elected. These included those up for re-election: Tom Kilbane, Joan Tracey and Jay Schwartzman; and nominees new to the board: Richard Buchanan, Don Fisher and Linda Williams. All will join the continuing board members, whose terms have not expired: Bob King, Genevieve Moyer, Marcia Rudoff, Lynn Sinclair and Ron Williamson.

At the conclusion of the meeting, members lingered to socialize and enjoy refreshments provided by the social committee.

Marcia Rudoff

writes the monthly

Senior Outlook for the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center.