Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee - BITESIZE | A 103-year-old Doctor’s #1 Secret to Health and Happiness | Dr Gladys McGarey #451

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

Today’s guest is the oldest person I’ve ever welcomed onto my show, and what a great pleasure it was for me to do so.  Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests. Today’s clip is from episode 394 of the podcast with Dr Gladys McGarey. She’s 103 years old, co-founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, and author of the fantastic book, The Well-Lived Life: A 102-year-old Doctor’s Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age. For many of us, finding our purpose in life feels like an optional extra when we’re busy working, raising children or caring for parents. It can be hard to know who we really are or what we want out of life. But Gladys insists we should still strive to identify our reason for getting out of bed every morning. Gladys believes each of us holds a unique purpose - a true reason for being here. And in this clip, she invites you to find yours. Thanks to our sponsor https://www.drinkag1.com/livemore Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com. Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/394 DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Today's Bite Size episode is brought to you by AG1, a science-driven daily health drink with over 70 essential nutrients to support your overall health. It includes vitamin C and zinc, which helps support a healthy immune system, something that is really important at this time of year. It also contains prebiotics and digestive enzymes that help support your gut health. It's really tasty and has been in my own life for over five years. Until the end of January, AG1 are giving a limited time offer. Usually they offer my listeners a one-year supply of vitamin D and K2 and five free travel packs with their first order. But until the end of January, they are doubling the five free travel

packs to 10. And these packs are perfect for keeping in your backpack, office, or car. If you want to take advantage of this limited time offer, all you have to do is go to drinkag1.com forward slash live more. Welcome to Feel Better Live More Bite Size, your weekly dose of positivity and optimism to get you ready for the weekend. Today's clip is from episode 394 of the podcast with 103-year-old Dr. Gladys McGarry, co-founder of the American Holistic Medical Association and author of the fantastic book, The Well-Lived Life, 102-year-old doctor's secrets to health and happiness at every age. For many people today, finding one's purpose in life can feel like an optional extra. But Gladys believes that each and every single one of us holds a unique purpose,

a true reason for being here. And in this clip, she invites you to find yours. In your book, you have these six secrets. They're very, very powerful. Out of these six secrets, the number one secret is you are here for a reason. So I wonder if you could explain how do you see purpose or what you call in the book juice, right? How do we find our juice? And then people who are struggling and don't feel they found theirs yet,

what guidance would you give to them? Just start looking for it. You know, until you start looking for something, you don't see it. You think that you're stuck in a job that has no purpose for you. But what purpose are you looking for? I knew when I was two that I was a doctor. I didn't think I was going to be one. I was. My dolls were always sick. I was always trying to fix my dolls. And I think one of the things that helped me so much was my mother and dad understood that and they listened and it's I think a lot of

children come in knowing their destiny and then we don't realize what they're really saying to us and we all have a purpose we're here for a really good purpose. What is it that makes you want to really take a deep breath and say, oh, yes, it's a new day? What is it that you really know is part of who you are? is part of who you are. And you may not have even thought about that because you thought you had to make the money to do the things to buy the house. You thought you had to manifest these things and you've done it and you've worked at it.

But why? Who is it? What is it? Where is it that you are looking for something that makes you sing, that makes you want to dance, that makes you, maybe it's in your dreams. Maybe it's a neighbor down the street who is really having a hard time and you haven't noticed. You know, it's looking for ways in which you can actually do something that helps you, yourself, and others. Because for life to be real, it has to move.

If it gets stuck, then it dies. Life cannot move unless we, as our inner core, are directing it to move. You know, in the introduction, you write about the shift in perspective, and you write about something called moving towards life, which I really like. It's the central philosophy, I think, behind the entire book. So if I think about that through the lens of purpose, and let's say that parents, maybe in midlife now, who feels a bit stuck, who feels that, life now who feels a bit stuck, who feels that, you know what, I don't really enjoy my job, but it pays for a roof over my head and it helps me feed my family. Now, it's interesting,

but you say the central thing we need to get right is get our perspective right. A lot of people have tough lives, right? So I'm not trying to paper over the cracks here, but let's take that parent, this hypothetical parent. You could look at that negatively and go, I don't like this job. It's mundane. It's tedious. But yeah, I need to do it because it pays the mortgage and feeds my family. But could you also, through the lens of your approach saying we are here for a reason, maybe in that moment, the fact that that job feeds their children and themselves and puts a roof over their heads, well, can that not be the purpose of that job? Absolutely. Absolutely. What greater purpose, you know?

And if you can put that energy into what it is that you're doing, the resentment goes away. Because then you're doing it for your family. And you know you're doing it for your family. And you know you're doing it for your family. You know, there are times when you get stuck and you can't see the way out. It's so dark and painful. If you can allow yourself to move with that pain to where it's teaching you what it is. Now, maybe it is. Well, I'm the breadwinner for this family.

And wow, you know, this is great. Or I'm a seamstress. But look at the things I can do and work with to help others. look at the things I can do and work with to help others. You know, it's putting some purpose into what it is that you're doing. And everything that you do can be a part of the purpose. Yeah, I appreciate you sharing that, Gladys. You mentioned earlier on in this conversation that you have a 10-year plan. And what's interesting to me when I hear that is the common narrative in society around aging is pretty negative. You're going to lose your

memory. You're going to lose your focus. You're going to lose your focus. You're going to lose your physical abilities. You know, people generally, as they get older, to my knowledge, I don't hear many people talking about 10-year plans. So it's very inspiring to hear you at the age of 102, talk about your 10-year plan. The plan is interesting for sure. I'd love to hear about it. But what's more interesting to me is the fact that you have a plan, that you are still curious, you're still looking forward, there are still things you want to do. I guess, speaking to you still have your purpose yeah well i do and it's a matter of being aware that i'm alive right now doing what i need to do right now because there's more to be done it's that that kind of a thought not whether it's six years or five years or You know, you put a number on it to give yourself a direction.

Life has to move. As soon as it gets stuck, it's reaching towards death. So it's that constant movement of moving forward. The tenure can move forward. You may not make it, but it's a moving target. And it's real. I love that. As you were speaking there, I was also thinking, in some ways, it doesn't, again, this is just my perspective, but to me, it seems that in some ways, it doesn't actually matter whether the 10-year plan gets realized or not, whether it's your 10-year plan or my 10-year plan. The point is, you have a plan that's keeping you going. You have a plan that's keeping you going. It's not a fixed something. You know, if I'm going to reach for something, I'm going to reach for it.

And maybe I'll make it. The try is accorded to him or her for righteousness. If we're trying to do something, we're righteous people. We're doing the right thing. So if we're, whether we make it or not, is whatever happens, you know. I have so many things that I have tried to do. My kids have called them, they're my almosts. You know, I almost made it here on this. We almost got that huge thing that we would almost. I've had so many almosts, but they are things that have led me along the path to be where I am.

And how in the world could I have imagined doing this? I mean, it's beyond possibility. And yet, here we are. I wanted to ask you about this idea of living in the moment. You write about this in the book, this idea of being present, being able to really experience life right here, right now. As you said, the only thing that matters at this moment in time, for me, and as you said, from you, is our interaction. It's can we be present in life right now? Because that's health, that's happiness, that's everything, right? Being

present. Yet many of us struggle with presence. Are there any practices you would recommend to people who struggle to be present, who are constantly thinking about something else other than where they currently are? What have you found to be helpful with patients who struggle with this in the past? If you're stuck, accepting the fact that you're

stuck and look for something else. In other words, if life seems so dark or painful, or it's like the time, and I'll use stories again. When my husband asked for a divorce after 46 years, I was devastated. I was absolutely, I couldn't imagine this. And so I'm really, really in a dark hole, I was, I'd go out into the desert and just howl like the coyotes, I mean, it was just, so this one day, I'm driving home, and I'm crying, I'm really crying, and I'm saying, God, you just don't understand, You don't understand how hard it is. And all of a sudden I pulled over to the side of the road and I stopped. And the

quote came to me, this is a day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And I took a deep breath and I said, okay okay and I put my license plate be glad so from that day on every time I got into my car and drove around the city of Phoenix, I was saying, be glad. In other words, when you're in a situation where you really, really think life has ended, it hasn't. You have to stop and give it time for the message to come to you, you know, because it's there.

And that really turned things around for me so that I was able to go on. I think we as human beings go through these really difficult times. I've had patients say to me, oh, well, after telling their story, they say, oh, well, you would never understand because you've always had it so easy. And my aunt says, oh, honey, if you only knew. So it's a matter of understanding that we're all in it together. You know, we all have hard times, and there is always, always light coming. If we reach for it, if we're not going to reach for it, if we're not going to really see that the sun does come up in the morning, then it's going to always be dark. Yeah, thank you. Gladys, we're living in a time now where many people are really struggling.

They're struggling with their mental well-being. They're worried about the future of the planet. They're worried about what they watch on the news they're struggling with their physical health so you have over eight decades worth of clinical experience but for that person right now who feels stuck in their life and can't see a way out what advice would you give them? Start loving your life. Start loving yourself. Start understanding that the very essence of love is what is healing. It heals everything. A mother kissing her child's boo-boo starts the healing process, but the whole aspect of healing, true healing, true healing of our beings is love. So if we can focus on what it is in our lives that we love and what it is that we want to continue to share with other people

because we want other people to love too. Yeah. Hope you enjoyed that bite-sized clip. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. And I'll be back next week with my long-form conversational Wednesday and the latest episode of Bite Science next Friday.