When I heard that James Gandolfini had died suddenly of a heart attack, my first thought was, “He was only 51!” Ouch! As we get older it’s harder to hear about people dying young, and these days, 51 is young. It can feel scary to hear about and make you question your own mortality. It did for me—for a minute! Then I chose to

While we can’t control everything that happens to us, we can do a lot to protect ourselves with good self-care. The more you love yourself, the more you’ll want to take care of your body. We usually start out by feeling invincible when we’re young. We smoke and drink and eat too much sugar and junk food and make excuses for not exercising. Then the years tick by and news of people dying, especially those who are so familiar to us—like Tony Soprano—passing away before they get old, can make us conscious of death. “Will it be my turn soon?”

That can make you feel powerless. Gandolfini was on vacation and had no intention of having his life end. But while you can’t fully control how long you’ll live, you can do things that can give you the best chance of living a long life, in good health. Ask yourself if you want to live a long life more than you want to hold onto bad habits. It’s easy to choose living longer but harder to do what it might take. Neither I, or anyone can guarantee longevity no matter what you do. But you can do your best to stack the deck in your favor.

•    Reduce stress. Stress is the foundation of many health issues. Research also shows that it greatly contributes to heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, wrinkles, hair loss, poor digestion, headaches, insomnia and gray hair. It also compromises your immune system and damages your cells and accelerates aging. Try doing relaxation breathing, yoga, meditation, exercise and more to manage your stress.

•    Do things that make you happy. The more you feel good, the more your body responds with good health.

•    Begin to say “no” to things you don’t want to do. Often saying “yes” increases stress and makes you unhappy.

•    Look for stress triggers and try to avoid them. Limit time with people who aggravate you. Find a new job if yours stresses you out, make a to-do list and decide what you can skip and whatever else sends your stress through the roof.

•    Watch what you eat. I still eat sweets, junk food and fries occasionally but I’m careful about eating healthy most of the time. Get your anti-oxidants!

•    Control your cravings for unhealthy things using the Law of Attraction. Whether it’s sugar, alcohol, cigarettes or a need to party excessively, you can rein in your cravings if you want to live longer.

•    Exercise regularly.Do weight training to strengthen your bones and cardio to keep your heart healthy. Plus, once to start doing it, it makes you feel good overall and helps you control your weight.

•    Get enough sleep. Not getting enough puts stress on your body and you don’t function at full capacity. A good night’s sleep make you feel so good.

•    Expect to live a long time in good health. Let the Law of Attraction help you have it!

The more you take good are of yourself, the more you give yourself a chance to live longer, and in good health. Don’t worry about what happens to other people. You don’t know what was going on with them. Focus on making yourself the best you can be and on living a long, healthy life so you get spiritual support for doing so.

May James Gandolfini rest in peace!
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