I was reading an article that said elite athletes and chess grandmasters live roughly 8 years longer than the general population. Chess grandmasters aren't pinnacles of health and exercise. So why the correlation? Their theory is the mind, it's a sharp mind that is often pushed to the limits and is continually learning and growing. I would agree. And since I believe strongly that Imagination is the engine of the mind, then it is one of the biggest reasons for great mental health and longevity.

Any athlete will tell you that performing well is probably 90% mental. Confidence. The movement that Imagination creates. I haven't seen any studies on artists or musicians or other groups that use a significant amount of Imagination in their everyday, but I'm sure they would find they live longer, too.

Imagining always and using it to help you achieve and learn will help you live longer. Once you enter your twilight years, that same Imagination will help you to visualize the Infinite possibilities that still remain for you, even if your 80 or older. That optimism and vision, in another study I read, will also help you live longer. When people lose hope and feel that they have nothing left to contribute on this Earth, pessimism, sadness and eventually death follow. I posit that is also why so many elderly couples die within a few years of each other.

Think about how much you could do in 8 or more extra years! Imagine and live longer! Eighty is the new twenty!