Health, Fitness & Personal Growth Tips for Women in Midlife: Asking for a Friend

Ep.186 Vitality After 50: How to Build Emotional Resilience, Physical Strength, and Joy in Midlife

• Michele Henning Folan • Episode 186

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What if healthy aging isn’t just about adding years to your life—but adding energy, clarity, and purpose to the years you already have?

In this episode of Asking for a Friend, host Michele Folan sits down with Eric North (aka “The Happiness Warrior”), a wellness speaker and coach who’s redefining what it looks like to be strong—emotionally and physically—at 61. Eric is the creator of the Happiness Workout, a simple daily practice that blends breathwork, functional movement, and mindset training to help people build resilience, reduce stress, and regain momentum in midlife.

This conversation dives into what it really takes to stay well in your 40s, 50s, and 60s—especially when life feels heavy, habits slip, or motivation disappears. You’ll hear practical tools for rebuilding confidence, getting out of “survival mode,” and creating small daily rituals that support mental fitness, consistent movement, better sleep, and emotional strength. 

Michele and Eric also discuss why community matters, how to reintroduce movement without overwhelm, and how to shift from fear-based aging to intentional living.

If you’ve felt stuck, tired, or like you’ve been playing small, this episode is your reminder: you’re not finished yet.

Follow Eric North: Instagram @thehappinesswarriorofficial

Happiness Warrior Website

 Follow Michele: @askingforafriend_pod and subscribe for weekly midlife wellness + fitness insights.

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1:1 health and nutrition coaching or Faster Way - Reach me anytime at mailto:mfolanfasterway@gmail.com

If you’re doing “all the right things” and still feel stuck, it may be time to look deeper. I’ve partnered with EllieMD, a trusted telehealth platform offering modern solutions for women in midlife—including micro-dosed GLP-1 peptide therapy—to support metabolic health and longevity.

https://elliemd.com/michelefolan - Create a free account to view all products.

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🎤 In addition to coaching, I speak to women’s groups, moderate health panel discussions, and bring experts together for real, evidence-based conversations about midlife health.

Transcripts are created with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.

Michele Folan:

The new year is coming. So let me ask you something. Are your goals the same ones you made last year and maybe the year before that? If you're a midlife woman navigating menopause, stubborn weight gain, bone loss, and low energy, starting over every January, isn't the problem. The plan is faster way isn't a quick fix or a crash diet. It's a lifestyle built for the menopausal body, one that needs protein to protect muscle, strength training to support bone density, and smart nutrition to keep your metabolism working with you, not against you. Because this isn't about looking good and address for one event. It's about staying strong, mobile, and independent for decades to come. I'm not coaching you for your 40s. I'm coaching you so you're not in a nursing home at 80. If this is the year you stop chasing skinny and start building strength for life, welcome to Faster Way. Check the show notes for more details. Health, wellness, fitness, and everything in between. We're removing the taboo from what really matters in midlife. I'm your host, Michele Folan, and this is Asking for a Friend. Today's episode is all about what it really takes to stay strong, emotionally and physically as we age. My guest, Eric North, also known as the Happiness Warrior, is 61 and living proof that longevity isn't just about adding years, it's about adding energy, clarity, and purpose to those years. Eric is a wellness speaker and coach who created the happiness workout, a simple daily practice that blends breath work, functional movement, and mindset training. His philosophy challenges the idea that aging equals decline. Instead, he shows how emotional resilience, presence, and consistent rituals can help us feel more powerful in midlife than we ever did in our 30s. In this conversation, we dig into mental fitness, stress resilience, rebuilding confidence, and what it means to age with intention, not fear. Eric offers practical tools you can use today to move out of stagnation and back into momentum. This is a grounded, inspiring look at how to live better, stronger, steadier, and more joyful in the second half of life. Eric North, welcome to Asking for a Friend.

Eric North:

Well, thank you for having me, Michele. I've been looking forward to this all week. And here we are and I'm ready to go.

Michele Folan:

Well, I get publicists that reach out every once in a while. And I saw this one and I said, ooh, this is one I'm gonna grab for sure. But I want to start first, Eric, with a little bit about your career path. How did you end up where you are today?

Eric North:

Oh, I guess well, I'm 61, so I've had a lot of years. I've had a lot of years. So I I can tell you, I kind of divide my life up into decades and how I, you know, each decade is another really another story of my life. But if I say 15 years ago or so, I I um I had gone from a typical career path, you know, just office office stuff, and I became a personal trainer. I I went to the point where I was so I had a job that I was uh it was it was a defense contractor, and they had lunch catered every day, big fattening lunches and brownies, because they didn't want you to leave the office ever. And they had and they expect us to work Saturday and Sunday too. And some of them were like, Yeah, I had to cut my wife's anniversary trip off so I could work tonight. Yeah. And they all were unhealthy. They all were always screaming at each other every time we had a meeting. And I had this one lady that worked there with me, and both of us were always sort of horrified by the whole place. Okay. And it was just the point where I was, I had reached a point in my career where I had an office in mahogany furniture and a window on 15th Street downtown. But I was really, it was at the point where I can't do this every day for the rest of my life. And I took a and I thought, what my real passion in life is fitness. I'm sort of a semi-competitive athlete, but mostly the competition is for me. I want to always, I was, I would I have an instilled uh value system to always do my best, which is just how I was Tom Wired. So I I I said, you know, I have I have what I need right now to survive and saved up. I can do something different. And I really thought I want to be a personal trainer. And that was kind of like I really wanted to do good in the world as a personal trainer, not just going to the gym and having a client every day. I wanted to make an impact. And I I started doing it and I realized that it was while while there were some really great benefits to being a trainer, it was also kind of limiting as far as where I wanted to go in my life. And I so I went to another career into real estate because I'm always really easy I'm always really easygoing with people. I can really make someone feel comfortable right away and feel like I'm listening to them. And I always feel like there's a little trick to that. But the trick is just to be kind and confident and empathetic, and that's all it is.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

And so I did that for 10 years. And then I had, and then I was, I then I became sort of a typical stressed-out high achiever. And I was like, I only have energy. I had so much energy my entire life. But in my in my early 40s, I started to feel like I was hitting a wall. And I didn't know what it was. This is a time we didn't have testosterone clinics that there weren't very, I never heard of one. I didn't know what that was. And a friend of mine said, My doctor said I had low T, but he didn't really do anything about it. You're just getting old. I was in my 40s. I was in my early 40s. I wasn't old at all. I was certainly not, and I didn't feel old. And my I have a lot of very old friends. I've lived in this city most of my life. And an old friend of mine called me up out of the blue and said, I was back when we used to make phone calls. Hey, I haven't talked to you in a long time, but I just went to this clinic in Florida, and they do legally prescribed testosterone therapy. And I think that would really be great. You're the kind of person that would be really good for the really good for you because you'd thrive. And I was like, okay, well, I'll take your advice. And I just started therapy, and I wouldn't say anything about me changed personally, but I felt like a new human. I he was a new man or whatever. I feel like I felt like I'd renewed myself very well. And I felt that drive and energy that I had when I was in my 20s, I felt again in my 40s. And then I have a way of getting to know people. So I got to know the person that helped me there pretty well. And he said, you know, I talk to the boss about you all the time, the owner of the clinic, and he wants to work with you and help me set up another clinic in DC. And I was like, Well, that's a big step now. You know, I'm I'm I'm doing really well in real estate. I have a really good, I'm well known in town. Do I want to start, and you have to do it full-time. Anything you do in life, you have to give or give everything to. And I said, Well, do I want to start a business? I said, Well, my dad had a business growing up, so I had a lot of entrepreneur kind of kind of knowledge back from my from my my teenagers. So I started this clinic and it became really a passionate thing in my life. I'm really helping people live better lives, live healthier lives. And I have to be also a good example. I like, and I'm a corny person, I like being a good example. I like, you know, I like knowing that what I'm doing, I have an integrity and honesty in my life. And I, you know, it's it's fine. So I became kind of the good example. I kind of shamelessly used my body a lot just to promote ads and stuff back then. It was it was worthwhile doing. And as I'm as the business matured, I was able to step away from that part of it and just let other people manage it and run it for me and create jobs. And then I was at the point where I, you know, I was having a good time once in a while going to conferences and in my in my business area. But I was like, what am I doing with my life? I still have something higher that I need to do, something more powerful and personal that I need to bring out of myself. And my best friend for 25 years said, you know, everyone's always so inspired when they're around you. They always feel good. You lift everyone up. And what whether you're in a taxi or in a hotel lobby or you know, just strangers on the street, they always feel good. You should be, you be, you'd be the best motivational speaker. Well, of course, my best friend's telling me I'll be the best. And I just started thinking about this. And then at 50, I started my first Instagram account, which was Redefining 50. That's what it was called. Because I was determined that I was going to be a different 50 than you see typically, but look just probably very similar to yourself. You just decided that this wasn't what I was gonna do in my life. I wasn't gonna get old, rather gonna just find ways to revitalize myself and help others. That's really what it's really what it's about. So that started me off, and I did I did pretty well with that. And then I um I hooked up with a uh a publicist who started me on the have as a happiness warrior. He said, I've never talked to anyone and been so sure in my life of pronouncing this on you. And it I said, well, that kind of fits to me. It feels good. I don't feel like I don't feel embarrassed by it all. I feel like actually it's empowering. So I became the happiness warrior, and I'd say it makes me happy to have an impact on other people's lives that's positive. And that's really what it is. And I don't like to live in a period a space of negativity. And I always tell them, I do a lot of things out loud. I say a lot of things to myself out loud. I don't know if you do that or not, but I say I have my morning affirmation. But I also say to myself, I will never live in fear. I will not let fear be part of my life that's self-created. And so I can't be afraid. And I've always been sort of like, what's next? Let's just go, you know. So that's where I am.

Michele Folan:

It's a long story, but no, I and I let you talk. I let you talk because I think this is uh a nice way to kind of launch into this topic because I just put out a story yesterday about living big. Quit thinking small, live big.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Michele Folan:

And I'm 61, like you are.

Eric North:

Oh, you are wonderful, okay.

Michele Folan:

And I I'm not finished yet.

Eric North:

No, no.

Michele Folan:

And I have lots of clients that are not finished yet. And I think there's this one little piece that's missing is are we satisfied with life? And so I love what you had to say. It's like you still felt like you had more to do and and you didn't know exactly what it was, but you went after it anyway. And I love that. I think that is if I could if I could bundle this whole topic up into with a little bow, that would that would be it. And um so you you talk about aging with purpose instead of fear. How did your perspective on aging shift between 40 and 60?

Eric North:

Well, I've realized that I can't get away on my looks anymore. So I have to I have to okay, that's that was that's in the past. And that's a different time in my life. And you know, I was you know, it was a happy time. And I used to compete on stage and bodybuilding and men's physique shows too. So I was in good shape for well into my 50s. And you know, now at 61, I I I really have to really work a little. I don't have to work, I wouldn't say the time is is in the gym is like hours, but I'd say the way I work now is very efficiently, the way I work out. And so that's kind of it there's so many good things we can still do at this age. And I I feel like there's our lifespans can expand. And that's why I own a longevity clinic too, to to help people maximize the good productive years of their life and increase that.

Michele Folan:

All right. I have to make a comment about the longevity clinic because I talk a lot about hormones on my podcast.

Eric North:

Yeah, I know, yeah.

Michele Folan:

And I think it's something that maybe women may not be having that conversation necessarily with their partners, but it is really important that men also keep that in check.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Michele Folan:

Because if if if your partner is 40 or 50 and falling asleep at seven o'clock at night and doesn't have energy, and I mean, certainly we need to back everything up with good lifestyle.

Speaker 3:

Yes, right.

Michele Folan:

And hormones aren't gonna solve all your problems, right? It's just it's a piece of it's a piece of the puzzle. And I say the same thing about peptides. But I just think that sometimes we women, we think about ourselves taking hormones, but we forget about our guys.

Eric North:

Yeah.

Michele Folan:

That they need they need hormones too.

Eric North:

I think most of the trouble in the world is for men with low testosterone who don't realize it. We we tend to say, oh, that guy's really crazy and he's all raging, but the guy is mostly has a very low, I can guarantee you from being in this business for a long time, I can guarantee you that raging idiot like you see on a TikTok video or somewhere is probably has a very low testosterone and a high estrogen imbalance. See, and the world is becoming more imbalanced as far as hormonally, too. I think we're seeing children with lower with much younger puberty, and and a lot of things are happening where men especially are in an estrogenic world. We live in a very estrogenic world, but there were a lot of things in our life that weren't around 50, 60 years ago that we're breathing every day and that we're drinking every day.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, consuming.

Eric North:

And I think that causes, and I always tell the guys that call the clinic that I I talk to every new patient before they come on, I want to make sure they're in the right place. And I always tell them this is not your fault, but you're living in a world that's just we've kind of messed it up a lot.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

And I and I think this is a way to kind of protect ourselves a little bit by checking our hormones, but also those daily, good, consistent habits that make it work, make it actually work and put it together.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, we can't, yeah. We we've got it, we've got to start with a healthy lifestyle first. And and and I don't want to make this about mindset. Yeah, exactly. Um, I don't want to make this about hormones, but I will say our young men are showing up with low T more and more these days, too. And and that's something that we really need to, you know, keep a get a handle on.

Eric North:

And the thing is they do every when when your hormones are like balanced, I say balanced, and only a few clinics can really do a good balancing. I don't think there's there's a lot of people and influencers out there that are selling peptides that are not for human consumption and people selling this and selling that. Oh, you're gonna you're gonna look so good. But it really comes down to having something really done with a sound medical team and understanding that, hey, this is not a magic bullet. This is something that's gonna enhance your lifestyle if you have a good, if you have a healthy lifestyle.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, absolutely. I agree. But you you say emotional resilience is as important as these things, as is cardio, as strength training for longevity. What does the research or maybe even your own experience show about that connection?

Eric North:

Well, I think what what when we have emotional resilience, it means we're able to, I I have a kind of a core values list, and one of mine is is have a ready for anything mindset. And then and that was all this is all around when just before COVID, I started developing all this stuff. And when COVID hit and the world kind of dramatically went upside down, all my all of my core values were really helpful in navigating that time too. And I had two businesses, I was when I'm an entrepreneur, and I feel like having emotional resilience is you know to tell yourself, first of all, talk when we talk to ourselves, everyone talks to themselves at some time in the day, is to use positive words. I'm not stupid, I'm not an idiot, you know, I'm not, I'm not incapable. But people use these things all the time. I'm so stupid, I'm so dumb, I'm so you know, emotional. And they tell you that they're emotional before they're emotional. And those are self-defeating ways of looking at ourselves. And if once we change the dialogue with ourselves, then we become capable, then we become confident. And a lot of what I do in life in general is I really, I really, I try, I don't know why I care so much, but I really want people to feel more self-confidence in themselves and see their value. Everyone has value.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

Sometimes they've been tamped down so hard and trampled on that they're afraid to raise their voice or use their voice. But everyone has value. So and that's what I try to do, is try to lift up the conversation so we're talking better to ourselves and then to others.

Michele Folan:

So do you speak to yourself out loud?

Eric North:

I have I first of all, I have two pit bulls. I talk to them all the time out loud. So I guess it's probably the same thing. To myself, if I have a lot of self-discipline. So when my self-discipline feels like there's a crack in it and I can talk, I can talk myself out of doing something that that's good for me. I tend to turn myself around and tell and tell myself that this is the stupid way to talk, the stupid way to think about myself. And just not I don't say stupid, but I think it's the negative talk. Once I turn that conversation around my head, I'm gonna have an amazing time. I'm gonna I'm gonna be really glad I did what I did what I decided to do. Yeah.

Michele Folan:

I talk to myself. You should like to talk to yourself.

Eric North:

I think a lot of things like affirmations should be verbalized. I think I'm corny and I say this all the time. I learned a long time ago. I try to be around happy people anyway, and I have a lot of, I have a couple of, I have three aunts that are well, there's only one left alive, but three aunts that were very much in my upbringing, who were all three very magnetic, empathetic, strong. I mean, got things done, but were always with this sort of protective aura around them of just of love and goodness. Don't mess with them, you know. But they didn't want to live in that way. So they just kind of and they taught me a lot because I was a shy kid. I used to stutter. I was just insecure as a young, as a young kid, I was into a lot of books too. So I was just kind of, and they brought the best out of me, and they always made me feel like I had a really big, I had something bigger in my life ahead of me. And I think that though they were my original happiness warriors.

Michele Folan:

Yeah. So oh, that's so neat. I love that.

Eric North:

Yeah, I'm lucky. I was very lucky to have them in my life.

Michele Folan:

So I love that. So why do you think so many people maybe 40s, 50s, let's say 60s, because that's a large part of my audience, they lose life force. So I'm not talking because they're sick, but it's almost like that inertia that we lose some at points in our life where we just I don't want to say we give up, but we just start to kind of look at life as, well, time to slow down.

Eric North:

Yeah, I don't understand that either. I do understand how it happens, but I think it becomes when people are feeling you feel like as you get older, you're you're you're more marginalized and you feel more on the outside sometimes. And then you start, well, you're too old for doing that. You're too old for that. You're you that that's for young people, or this is, you know, how do you even and you know, and I'm around people of all ages all the time. I think I was like, I was driving by I was riding my bike by a school today, the teachers were really animated in helping the kids. I thought they get to be kids every day. The teachers get to be with young people every day, no matter how old they get, until they retire if they choose to. And how uplifting that must be because then you're always in touch with what's going on in the world because the young generation is going to lead the way someday.

Michele Folan:

Right. Yeah. And then I wrote this down, and I'd love to get your insight into this. How can someone know if they're living in survival mode instead of vitality mode? What are the signs?

Eric North:

Saying no to everything. That's one thing I think right there. Just saying no before you even before you even understand what you're doing. I think recognizing that that that no is is fear-based, and then recognizing that that that fear is keeping you from reliving, it's keeping all of us from living better lives. And it's a matter of walking through a new, a new doorway, a new, you know, opening a window. You find you find a new light somewhere, I think. And if you just I also think that we live in a world right now where everything's delivered. Everything's delivered. You don't have to really. Leave your house. And right there, that's alienating. And then why do you bother? That's hard to make then you say it's hard to make friends. It's hard to make friends when you're at home all the time and you're getting an Amazon delivery every 10 minutes. You know, it's hard.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

So I think there's a lot to be said just for social interaction.

Michele Folan:

You know, let's let's put a challenge out there, Eric.

Eric North:

Yeah.

Michele Folan:

To people listening to this. Over the holidays in the next end of January, say yes to something that you have that pull to say no because you you you're more comfortable in your jammies and your slippers at 7 30 at night. But why why not say yes? Say yes to that lunch date or you know, go shopping with a friend or whatever.

Eric North:

Yeah. I did something like that a couple of years ago, and I said, I'm I don't like networking pretty particularly, like meeting strangers and networking. And I don't want to I don't have to sell myself to anyone. I'd rather just socialize and listen to people's ideas. It's more what I'm into, or listen to what they're thinking about. So I made a vow to myself that I would go out once a month to some type of like business social event. And it went pretty well. And then in March of 2020, it all stopped. Okay, so everything ended. But that was my goal. And it went really well. I started doing it like in November. It was like November, December, January, February, and then all of a sudden it was all stopped. And that was kind of liberating because I because I was able to look at the well, I'm not is there a fear of missing out? And I realized some of these things I'm not missing out on, I don't want to do. I know, I don't enjoy. And the ones that I did enjoy, the people I connected with, I continued to socialize with and and you know and collaborate with.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, you know, and um this isn't about me, but I do have a story for you. So last week I went to a fashion show. My daughter was in the fashion show, so she asked me to come and and support and was happy to do that. And I went by myself. Now, 20 years ago, I've been like, I'm not going to that by myself. But I was like shaking everybody's hand at the table, networking, you know, who, you know, like what do you do? You know, all this made a great business connection. I love doing that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Michele Folan:

And I think we need to challenge ourselves sometimes to step out of our comfort zone, even at 61.

Eric North:

And go out by yourself and be the let people orbit around you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

Let your energy show who they are. And just for once without having without having a sidekick all the time. I like having lots of friends around too. I'm very social. But I also, there's a value in going out. I go out by myself. I'll do business trips by myself quite often. And I'll just jump into the pool, basically, to see what happens.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

And you find your way. And it's fun. And it's fun. Meaning, I always think when I was younger, I backpacked through Europe a few times. It was cheap back then. You had a little backpack. I could travel for $10 a day. And I would just go wherever the world, wherever the world, whatever struck me that day. But every time I went somewhere, I would make a new pack of friends immediately. And then another new pack of friends somewhere else, another new pack of friends somewhere else. And it was just like it was magical because you could just go anywhere and just have meet people from all over the world.

Michele Folan:

It's so fabulous.

Eric North:

So long ago, I can't remember myself. I can't imagine myself doing that now.

Michele Folan:

But it was uh Eric, we're gonna take a quick break. When we come back, I want to talk about the happiness workout. I want to talk about peptides for a moment. Yes, weight loss peptides are everywhere right now. And when used correctly, they're very effective and backed by years of clinical data. But peptides are not just about weight loss. There are peptides that support metabolic health, energy, muscle, your sleep, skin, hair, and long-term healthy aging, the things midlife women are actually struggling with. That's why I partnered with a trusted telemedicine resource. My clients were asking for more because eating well and lifting heavy sometimes still isn't enough in midlife. LEMD is physician-led, medically supervised, and uses an FDA certified compounding pharmacy. No internet hacks, no self-prescribing, no guessing. This isn't about chasing a smaller body. It's about preserving muscle, protecting your metabolism, and supporting the body you want to live in for the next 20 to 30 years. If you want real options, not trends, you can learn more through the link in the show notes. All right, we are back. Before we take a break, I said I want to talk about the happiness workout. And I would love it if you would walk us through what it looks like in a real day for someone in their 50s or 60s who is in doing the happiness workout.

Eric North:

It's not complicated. There's no and there's no set lesson plan for it, other than the fact that I we started talking, I went off topic a little bit. Do I talk to myself? Yes, every morning, no matter what. I'm doing that, I said I've been doing this for my aunts, gave me this a long time ago, but also as a as a last 10 years, I've probably done this every single morning. I don't care where I am or what I, you know, I don't care how I sound, or someone can hear me in the next room, I say, good morning, Eric. It's gonna be a great day. I say it as if I love that person that I'm talking to. And that right there is probably the most important part of the happiness workout, is giving yourself a daily affirmation that makes sense to you. It may not be the same that I do, it may be longer for someone, but for me, it's very simple. And I will tell you, I anecdotally, I had a really um crazy early flight one morning. And I couldn't get a car to go there and everything. It was really a big mess. I totally forgot. And I got to the airport, and then the airport was screwed up. And I said to myself, I was in an elevator, I said, Good morning, Eric. It's gonna be a great day. I because I'd forgotten, like three hours later. And everything changed, everything started going smoothly, the rest of the day was awesome, and everything was great. I just forgotten. It wasn't a punishment, but it was more a reminder to myself that I deserve to be happy every day. I deserve to have a great day every day, and everyone does.

Michele Folan:

You're manifesting.

Eric North:

I'm manifesting, and I don't like to use all that stuff so much as like, oh, you know, you're gonna do you're gonna make everything come to you. But when you manifest in sort of a pure form like that, you're not, you're you're doing something really good for yourself. It's it's just I like to keep things very elemental and very simple and just break it down so that everyone can understand that. And I think if you feel stupid doing that, that's you, that's the inner voice stopping us from from from doing something that's good for ourselves. And that happens a lot. I think the reason I'm about being stagnated in life, that happens a lot. People feel like, I don't deserve something good. I don't deserve to be happy. And if you know the first problem in happiness for workout is having the morning affirmation. I always say, have some water in the morning to get started before you have coffee or anything. Don't go, I need coffee, some water, walk around a little bit. I unload the dishwasher in the morning. It's just a stupid thing. And I do some stretching, and I think it's very important to do stretching. I think shoulder stretching, if you work out in the morning and you're anxious and nervous, if you do a good shoulder roll, it takes the anxiety level way down. And then that's scientific that this had an the Washington Post just had an article about doing shoulder rolls and how they they actually they immediately lower blood pressure and heart rate.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

And it's neat. You can do this at your desk, yeah, you know, yeah. And stuff like that. And then I think the other most important thing, even if it's cloudy out or if it's even raining, raining can be kind of hard, but getting any kind of natural light early in the morning, and that's in the first couple hours of daylight, is the best light for us emotionally. And what that does is it sets us, it sets our rhythms and our in our brain better. So we're less depression, more, more uplifting day, happier spirit. And it really makes a big difference. If you can see the sunrise and your schedule allows it, get up and do it.

Michele Folan:

Yeah. It doesn't have to be sunny.

Eric North:

No, no, it can be a big, beautiful, cloudy morning. It doesn't matter, but have some way to appreciate. I think important thing, and another thing I said on another podcast, I think if you can go barefoot outside for a while, even if it's even if it's on a patio, do that too. It's harder in the winter, but it's possible. You know, it's better. Anything's possible if if we have the will for it. So anything where you're in touch with the earth, and actually, I think another thing that makes me really sad with people I hear about is that our our our our society's connection with nature is going down and down and down every year. So over 50% of people don't feel connected with nature. And I think, well, that's just sitting under a tree. Looking at this tree is wonderful, is a beautiful thing that has life. So I'm kind of weird that way. I just I like to there's a thing called forest bathing that they do, especially especially in Japan, where they just go into the forest and they just it feels like a massage almost because it's mental.

Michele Folan:

Yeah. Oh, I love that. You know, and here's something else too. And I tell my clients, you know, try to get in as much outdoor walking as you can.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Michele Folan:

But it's also good to unplug.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Michele Folan:

Not you know, take the earbuds out and and really connect with the sounds so that you're paying attention to what's going on around you. Yeah. I think that is that's such great advice, right?

Eric North:

I have removed, I have, I rarely, I have a set of headphones I can do for a podcast, but I rarely have any headphones on. I don't wear them to the gym. I used to wear them when I rode my bike. I ride my bike a lot. That's my primary uh mode of transportation. And I had a big accident in my bike and had to have my my my quads rebuilt. I had my headphones on. I'm not blaming that, but after that, I was like, I want to be present in my life when I'm out dog walking, walking, riding my bike, anything that I'm doing that's active and I'm outside, I want to be present. And that has changed my whole mindset. I'm much more relaxed now. I'm much more life, just feels um smoother when I when I don't have all this. I podcasts are awesome, but I don't need to walk around the neighborhood, listen to a podcast. And like I might see a neighbor I want to talk to too.

Michele Folan:

Yeah. And then you also blend breath work. So we talked about some functional movement. Yeah. And then mental training. What makes this mix especially powerful for aging bodies and brains?

Eric North:

Because it slows us down, lets us get into ourselves a little bit. Like I said, like you said, it's it's it helps us to deprogram all the negativity in the world around us. And I think that's very important. Nothing is going to hurt us unless we allow it to hurt us, unless we allow it to hurt us. And often our fears are not gonna are ungrounded. So if you can go through, and then if we're happier, and I'm I'm trying to build more happy people. I'm trying to build people that are connected with a bond of happiness, like they have inner happiness and they understand what that means. And I think that's that's really so the happy smart back to the happiness where you workout, it's also being having some kind of social activity, even if it's just going to the grocery store. Something where you're out in public and you get to smile at someone and say hello or help them with something makes a big difference in how we and how the rest of our day goes. And then I'm always about movement. Movement is key to everything. So humans are supposed to move. That's how we're built our bodies are built. When we sit, we we we get injured.

Michele Folan:

Yeah. And don't get me started on that.

Eric North:

I know that's that I did my research on you too. I saw how you I really liked your the the way you look at life with your clients and the way you um you've been doing your your um peanut butter um uh projecting biscuit thing. Yeah, those look so good, but you were so pat you were so into it, you know. I thought that's someone who's very authentic.

Michele Folan:

So I eat before I work out.

Eric North:

I do too.

Michele Folan:

I don't work out fasted. And there's two camps on that one. People that are like, oh no, you gotta work out fasted. And I'm like, no, you don't.

Eric North:

And no, you don't. No, you don't. And I I've been in in workout, high-level workouts, and I should personal trainer for a long time. Here's some big myths. Intermittent fasting doesn't matter. There's no I was thought it was very fishy when it became a big thing a few years ago. I thought to myself, there's something about people doing this that trying to be holier than other people. I think it's a lot of trying to be better than someone else. Oh, I can go to 16 hours, 18 hours, you know, without eating. I don't feel good when I don't eat when I don't eat better. I feel like my morning walk, I just need water, some coffee, and I'll go out for two, you know, a two or three mile fast walk. But to go to the gym, you know, I have I have a home gym and I have a uh an actual gym that I go to. When I'm in my home gym, I'm cooking something at the same time. I'm having I always have pineapple. I think pineapple is one of the best foods you can eat to work out because it helps with inflammation and and digestion. And I think it's it's fine to have something carb-wise to kind of feel your workout, make you stronger. I think you're stronger when you have a little nutrition beforehand.

Michele Folan:

Yeah.

Eric North:

And that's what it's all about, is being able to break the muscle down and recover faster.

Michele Folan:

And so again, what maybe worked for you when you were 25 or 30 years old is not the secret sauce when we get in midline.

Eric North:

Like Michelle, let's go for a walk and go to the bakery and have a stop and go.

Michele Folan:

Yeah. Oh, oh my God, you and I could go down a whole rabbit hole with this one. But yeah, I thought this was interesting because as I was doing my research, what role does forgiveness play in letting go emotionally and to grab that healthy life?

Eric North:

Everything. Holding on to I see people aging so fast when they hold on to negativity. Yeah. And if you see people that you know, and you could I sometimes try to avoid people that have too much negative energy. I'll just, I won't be mean, but I'll just kind of I'll go away, I'll drift away. I'll see them, and they're still and I had a friend on I had used to always be complaining about something and something and something, uh and boyfriend, you know, or always something. And then we we hooked, we we met up about five years after we had kind of split apart. And it was the same thing, and I'm calling an Uber while we're talking because I'm ready to get the heck out of there, you know, because I thought, and this person used to be beautiful, and it just uh ages you so much. And forgiveness is can be hard. We want it's sometimes that that little thing that we're mad about, it keeps people alive. I think sometimes some people the anger keeps them alive, but I think it also makes them even more more dreadful. But it's forgiveness is has to be used appropriately. Okay. So some things you have to be able to walk away from in life and have a boundary. Otherwise, you can still forgive that person because you may not want to be around them or something, you know. And um, it's it it that is when I was able to be f more forgiving, I feel like I'd finally grown up.

Michele Folan:

Yeah.

Eric North:

Now it's probably my fifties.

Michele Folan:

You know, and I think sometimes when we carry that with us for so long, it keeps us from living.

Eric North:

It does.

Michele Folan:

It keeps us from being.

Eric North:

Yeah.

Michele Folan:

And I think that is one of the worst things we can do to ourselves is to hold on to that shit.

Eric North:

It is shit. And life is life is and you can let someone I say, I don't have to let someone shit on me. I mean, I hate to use that word, but I don't if someone I don't have I can I can walk away from that. I don't have to take it either, you know?

Michele Folan:

Yeah.

Eric North:

We all have that choice.

Michele Folan:

I'd love to talk a little bit about breath work. I've done um a podcast on breath work with my friend Sandy, and I want to know how you implement breath work into your whole routine.

Eric North:

Oh, it I think for I'll kind of go backwards in my day because at night breath work is how I go to sleep. So I'd I'll do a I'll do a uh a four-second inhale, seven-second um hold, four-second exhale, and then a little kind of break in between and then repeat. And that feels a little bit like your heart's gonna burst at first when you're not used to it. But once you get used to it and get a rhythm for it, it's very simple, and you hold on to that breath. And when you're holding the breath, you really start to think differently in your head for that seven seconds, too. That starts to really clear things. I think it kind of clears things out. And I fall asleep so easily that way. And that is also after my evening affirmation, which is, you know, that I did my best, I was told I did my best today, I'll do better tomorrow. Tomorrow's a new opportunity to for new life. That's what I'll tell myself almost every night before I go to bed. And if I don't think, if I think I have something that I have to think about that day that maybe I didn't do as well as I as I should have, I'll think about it and I'll I won't do it. I won't do it again.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Eric North:

And then that and that leads me to be more relaxed. And then the breathing, then I'm asleep in five minutes before you know it. And that's kind of backwards. Now, during the day, I have to do a podcast or I have to be on live television or something. Couple of, just quick inhales, you know, just kind of get yourself in exhales just to kind of clear the head. I think it's breathing for me is about bringing stress down and clearing my head and having a having a um open mindset after that. So you know, important.

Michele Folan:

Oh, it is very. And you've maintained incredible strength and vitality even at 61, right? What are the core physical practices that you rely on now? And how has that changed since your 40s?

Eric North:

I think the time I spend in the gym is less is less now than in my 40s. So my 40s is more about refining my physique and my outward appearance. And when now in my 60, or late 50s to 60, became my my VO2 max, like my cardio strength, my ability to ride my bike up steep hills and to keep that going. And then another thing I've always done, and this is kind of a guy thing, is since I was a young, my family was very into fitness, but as a young man, I moved around and a lot of it. I always had a pull-up bar that would go on a door and door frame. So pull-ups are one of the most important things in my life. And being able to just do good pull-ups now at this age is something that I have a really I it's gonna take a really hard time for me when it starts to get older and it's getting a little harder. As we get older, we don't lose our life vitality, but we lose our force. We're not quite as strong sometimes. They're able to push as fast as we did maybe 10 years ago. So I look at that as my my pull-up volume. And then I also do a lot of push-ups too. And I don't do them as much as I used to. I do I have to take a day off and rest now more sometimes too. Before I could do them every day, I could work out high intensity six days a week.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, but I think, you know, we can't overlook recovery days because I think that's where I mean, yeah, you know, it's kind of the mental and the physical piece there as well.

Eric North:

Without a recovery day, I would be a mess. That's what I know now. I tell anybody who's working out now, too. Recovery days in between a weightlifting days, I think important. And but I but I do believe that everyone, if if if physically possible, and I talk about this when I'm doing a thing on TV, I'll talk about how to make things accessible to all levels of ability levels, but physically possible to move cardio-wise 40 minutes a day, preferably outside. And that's what you need. That's that's not it's not the maximum, it's not the minimum. It's kind of the ideal sweet spot for most people, is 40 minutes at a pretty high intense, uh intenser heart rate.

Michele Folan:

Yeah. You know, I had this week, I have Dr. Vonda Wright, who is orthopedic surgeon, and she talked about at least 45 minutes three times a week in zone two. You know, you're not breathless to where you can't have a conversation, but you're you're at a good there.

Eric North:

I mean, I think three days a week is okay, but I really don't think if if you're physically able, I think it's good to do it over. I try to.

Michele Folan:

I definitely try to.

Eric North:

I can tell. I yeah, yeah, yeah. If I can. You know, like the other day it was thirty seven degrees and raining hard in the morning. I was like, I'm gonna go later on today, you know. So yeah.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, I probably pass on that one too.

Eric North:

Not crazy, not that crazy, but yeah.

Michele Folan:

Well, and I think this brings up But good question. How can sedentary adults reintroduce movement in a way that builds momentum instead of makes them feel discouraged?

Eric North:

The whole discouragement part is so sad because I think we we tend to put such high expectations on ourselves. And I like I can't like I really have a problem with New Year's resolutions because I think they're just ridiculous. I think it should be something that is a daily mindset thing where you're gonna change. You're gonna change something, it takes three weeks to make a good habit come true. And so I to be discouraged. Everyone who's physically capable can can build every day. So if you if you if it takes if you can just take five, I think just a five-minute walk after each meal is a start. Ten minutes is then you get to ten minutes. Go to the mailbox, go down the, you know, go down in the street and come backwards again, go for a walk in the woods, which is really good. It doesn't have to be an hour with with weights in your hands and you're dead. You have to be give yourself a time to get make it part of your life, make it something that you look forward to doing every day.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Eric North:

And I always think walking is the best medicine too. Walking is a is a natural way to start feeling more confident in ourselves as well.

Michele Folan:

Oh, and it's free.

Eric North:

It's free. It's free, it's free everything. Yeah.

Michele Folan:

That that's really good advice.

unknown:

Yeah.

Eric North:

It's a free therapy session.

Michele Folan:

So we've talked a lot about your your own good habits. Is there another core habit that you don't skip?

Eric North:

Just we even talked about nutrition, but I really believe that making our own foods and knowing where our food comes from is a really important part of life. And I'm not everyone has access. I have access to so many farmers markets in this city that I that I it's crazy. But I always have this, I make it a really big habit on it. If I don't have anything else, sometimes Saturday is the day to get other things done. A Saturday morning for me, and I'm sad now because my farmer's market's closed for the winter. My my my my local one. There's another one down the road. But Saturday mornings for me is sort of a ritual. I go for a bike ride. I live near the I live near a big park with lots of bike trails, and it's an incredibly beautiful. And I do that, and then I ride up to the farmer's market, and then I get my food. But I know all the farmers, and I know I know who's growing my vegetables, I know who gets the meat that I use, I know who's the apple farmer has 37 different types of far of apples, and he's doing a study with the University of Pennsylvania. It's kind of an amazing group of people who do this every every week. And just being a part of that and coming home, and I'll share that on a video sometimes is what I've, you know, like what I picked up. And it's just it's an easy way to eat healthy and also have some respect for where our food comes from, too. And nutritionally dense foods are so important and and and they help. And if we're really thinking even even deeper, what I do is I think, what am I doing that day? What what foods do I need to enhance that day and make me stronger and feel better and have energy levels that are on during the day? And that's one of my big things, is eating with a purpose.

Michele Folan:

You know, playing it forward, because I think sometimes we eat the say we eat a couple cookies on an empty stomach, and then we wonder why at two o'clock in the afternoon we're crashing and going for the caffeine and more sugar. And I always, when I eat something, I think, okay, how am I gonna feel after I eat this? And I do too. Yeah. I think it's just such a good practice. And the other thing is if it comes from the ground or has a mother, then that's always a good option to eat rather than something that comes out of a package.

Eric North:

And and to respect what it took to bring that to their table, too. I think it's very important. You know, I these people who go on these carnivore diets, what kind of quality of meat are they eating every day? And they're not getting a balance. I don't think that's a good way to live at all. But that's just another anybody who wants to challenge me on that, that's fine. I don't believe in it at all.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Eric North:

I think we need fiber, I think we need vegetables, I think we need things to clear and purify our system. And so I'm a big thing about variety of foods. Fruit, I think fruit is a fruit, it I it gets a lot of bad rap for having too much sugar. I think you can eat all the fruit you want, which is fine. All the fruit you want, have a banana. I have bananas all the time. I've I would I have I have organic apples are an essential part of my daily diet, no matter what. You know, when I'm traveling, I'll get my hotel to get me apples. Yeah, you know, to make sure I have them.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, organic. Yeah, organic is important.

Eric North:

And I'm not always an organic person for everything, but it's certain things like apples or berries are very important.

Michele Folan:

Yes. Oh, we're on the same page there.

Eric North:

I that's that's like talking to a little person. Heck yeah, heck yeah.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, and and you know, I often challenge people who have done keto and they're like, oh, but I lost so much of weight on keto. I'm like, well, then why are you back talking to me?

Eric North:

Because the weight is it is all they think it's a simple game where they can they think they can gain the system with some kind of trendy thing that happens. I'm going to um in my in my business world, there's a a group called A4M, which does all the longevity medicine and stuff. And they have a huge um conference in Vegas in about 10 days. So I have to go to that. About 6,000 doctors and people who do who do longevity medicine. And every year, though, there's a new fad. There's a new fad every year, it's something or other. And I just sort of ignore that. I just sort of, I really, I'm not missing out. There's a fear of missing out. If I don't do this new fad, I'm gonna miss out on this thing. And I've just never really prescribed to that. I've always thought, let's just stay with what I think is sensible and what works for me. And as as my needs have changed over my lifespan too. We keep talking about being 61. 61, you've learned a long time, but you've also realized that to have that nice smile and had that happy energy and everything, it takes a little bit of work. It takes a little bit of, it's called self-love.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Eric North:

Self-love is not about getting your I love, you know, getting a pedicure is awesome, but self-love to me is not about all the superficial things, it's about the inner, the inner, our inner needs of what we need. And being able to do that without any guilt and without any shame.

Michele Folan:

So yeah, I love that. I agree. And then for listeners who are ready to reclaim their energy, emotional vitality, what's one ritual they can start today?

Eric North:

Morning affirmation. I want everyone to challenge themselves to say something that's gonna make you feel really good every day, that's gonna get you through the day. It can be whatever you want, it can be the same thing. Good morning, Michelle. It's gonna be a great day. And it's infectious. People start to pick up on that too. If we share that with, and I think sharing our experiences with others is what it's all about. We're doing a podcast to share our experiences here. But sharing things with others that work, don't just don't be afraid to raise your voice and say something. Speak up. This is what helps me. I want to hear, I want to, I'm always interested in other people's experiences and and things that work for them too.

Michele Folan:

Yeah.

Eric North:

Because there's a lot we can pick up.

Michele Folan:

It's the importance of community.

Eric North:

Community is so important. It's been my focus all day today. It's been my focus. What I've been thinking about is community, how important that is.

Michele Folan:

Eric North, where can listeners learn more about your work and connect with you and begin the happiness workout?

Eric North:

Well, I'm on Facebook, which is for a lot of my old friends, but I'm also my my biggest platform is is Instagram, and I'm the Happiness Warrior official. So if you start looking up the Happiness Warrior official, I'll be on there. I do videos every week, and I try to do it. And I really lately I've been getting a lot of interactions and a lot of a lot of a lot of people have been talking to my talking back to me, which I love.

Michele Folan:

Oh I love that. That's great interaction.

Eric North:

Interaction, I encourage it. I want more interaction because I want to be able to hear feedback and what makes people happy. When I do TV, I want my I have my neighbors, I'll be like, I'm on, I'm on channel five this week and you'll watch it, and they'll be like, they'll give me criticism sometimes. They'll like you to show us a little bit more about for older people or make it make it a little bit easier for you know a disabled person to understand.

Speaker 3:

Oh, that's awesome. It's important.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, yeah.

Eric North:

It feels good. You know, someone's watching me too. I love that. Makes me feel good.

Michele Folan:

Makes us all feel good, right?

Eric North:

Yeah, it does make it.

Michele Folan:

Eric North, I love your passion and enthusiasm. This was such an uplifting conversation, and I would really recommend listeners check out Eric at the Happiness Warrior Official. And uh thanks for being here today.

Eric North:

Oh, thank you so much. I feel like it does like we just got started, but it was so much fun.

Michele Folan:

Thanks for being here. Thank you for listening. Please rate and review the podcast where you listen. And if you'd like to join the Asking for a Friend community, click on the link in the show notes to sign up for my weekly newsletter where I share midlife wellness and fitness tips, insights, my favorite finds, and recipes.