Hllo friends Besse Cooper died peacefully earlier this week. At 116 years old, she was the oldest living person in the world. She was also one of the five oldest Americans in history.
Cooper was born in 1896. She married her husband, Luther Cooper, in 1924. He died half a century ago in 1963, but she never remarried. She has four children, 11 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, and two great–great grandchildren.
During an interview with the Guinness Book of World Records, Cooper was asked about the keys to living a long life. She offered two pieces of advice: “I mind my own business. And I don't eat junk food.”
Let's talk about the wisdom in those two simple statements and how you can use it to live better.
“I Mind My Own Business”
Stress is a silent killer. It can take years off of your life, and in some cases, it can end it altogether.
There's no doubt that Besse's mantra of minding her own business helped her avoid unnecessary drama, useless comparisons, and unwanted stress. That's a good lesson to learn and it's a deeper wisdom than it appears on the surface.
Give how much we focus on our own lives, it would be easy to convince ourselves that we're minding our own business when in fact we are doing exactly the opposite. We care about the job we have, the house we live in, the clothes we wear, and the car we drive. And there's nothing wrong with that. Except that in many cases we think we are minding our own business, but really we are slowly being sucked into comparing our lives to our peers, our neighbors, and our community.
And trust me, I'm guilty of this as well. I like being respected and praised as much as the next person.
Truly minding your own business has nothing to do with comparison. It means knowing what you stand for, distancing yourself from the unimportant and unnecessary drama that has a way of seeping into your day, and living your life for the people around you instead of comparing it to the people around you.
