Live to 100 – Longevity Lessons from Netflix Series (Part 4)

The final, and BIGGEST, finding from the series is that forming genuine connections is the most significant factor for increasing longevity. Friends and family give us hope, love, support, and a reason to push through the tough times. It’s no surprise that all the Blue Zones had strong friend and family relationships.

Family First

With a culture of putting family first, Blue Zone societies keep their elders living at home with the family until they die. This keeps families connected across generations and ensures that elders have meaningful connection and relationships their entire life.

I love this insight from Dan Buettner. When I think about how different our modern society is from the traditional values of a strong family unit, part of me feels sad. It’s easy to get too focused on modern concerns and forget entirely about those we love and care about. 

I come from a broken home, and so I’ve made it a priority in my life to prioritize the wellbeing of my family, so they don’t experience the same hardships I had to. It’s been a lifelong journey for me to learn how to balance work, pleasure, family, and friends. I’ve found that – even though it can be really tough – it’s worth putting in the effort to nurture family relationships.

This has been such an important focus in my life that I wrote an entire section in my abundance course on how to have uplifting, healthy relationships. If this is something you’d like to grow in, you can learn more about that in my Life More Abundantly course.

Partnership

Centenarians not only value family relationships, but they value romantic relationships. They have most often cultivated a loving, peaceful, supportive marriage. This core loving relationship helps sustain their soul well into their elderly years.

I have been with my husband for more than half my life. I can’t say that we’ve created a consistently loving, peaceful, supportive marriage, but what I can say is that my husband and I value growth. No matter what we go through, we focus on how we can grow from our mistakes and we get external support when we need it. No one has all the answers, but we can learn to be a bit better each day. 

Often some of the turmoil in our relationships comes down to emotional imbalance. As my husband and I have grown in health, we’ve found that improving our diet, getting proper sleep, and using essential oils for emotional support have all been critical in keeping balanced. I’ll put some links below if you’re looking for support in any of those areas:

Improving Diet: Fresh Start Cleanse
Proper Sleep: ‘6 Tips For Getting A Good Night’s Sleep Every Night’ blog post
Emotional Balance Products: US Warehouse, CA Warehouse

Right Tribe

It’s not just about family and romantic relationships, forming friendships is important too! In Okinawa, the elderly form moais, which are groups of neighbour-friends. They meet regularly and support each other as life’s hardships arise. Other Blue Zones have similar supportive communities, caring for each other in times of need and staying connected frequently.

When I think about my friendships, I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. My friends have become such a support for me in times of need and they have been such a joy to share my life with. I don’t have a moai, but I do have team calls with all my doTERRA business partners (other doTERRA wellness advocates who have decided to grow a business with doTERRA). These are incredible men and women. Together, we have grown so much over the last few years. We’ve helped each other grow our businesses from nothing to financial abundance and our hearts from burdened to boundless.

If you’re excited about natural solutions and would like to learn more about what it takes to build a business with doTERRA, I’d love to talk with you and we can explore what that looks like for you. Just send me an email and let me know you’re interested in learning more about building.

Speaking of genuine relationships, I’d love to get to know you a bit better. Send me an email and let me know what you thought of this Live To 100 series. It means a lot to me and I read every, single response.