The Secrets to Age-Defying Champions

Yesterday, at the age of 50 years old, golf legend Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship becoming the oldest player in history to win a golf major.

Less than 4 months ago, Tom Brady became the oldest quarterback ever to win a super bowl at the age of 43.

A trend is happening and age is becoming a powerful asset to achieving greatness.

"This is just an incredible feeling because I believed it was possible, but everything was saying it wasn't," - Phil Mickelson

While aging is unavoidable, succumbing to long-held stereotypes about what that means is not. According Mary Didich of Psychology Today, "People who resist seeing themselves as elderly are able to stave off the very things they fear."

University of Zurich researchers found that older adults who psychologically distance themselves from their own age group feel younger and perceive their future as more open-ended.

The average age in the NFL is 26 years old making Tom Brady 17 years older than most everyone around him.

4 of the top 5 PGA players in the world currently are under the age of 28 making Phil is nearly twice their age!

The secret to aging well apparently is to just pretend that you are not. Surround yourself with youth. In the locker room, at practice, on the course, and most wherever they are, Phil and Tom are constantly around people younger than them.

"I want to play as long as they let me." - Tom Brady

Studies show that having multigenerational relationships have many benefits. The energy alone makes you feel younger and a concept of reverse mentoring also occurs. This involves a younger person teaching skills to the elder helping them stay relevant.

Tom and Phil are getting some great tips from the youngsters.

Whatever it is that Phil and Tom are doing, I want in. They stay in shape, they surround themselves with youth and they are not letting age deny them of greatness.