Longevity as a value to improve business performance

An astronaut physician for over seven years at ESA, the European Space Agency, Filippo Ongaro was the first Italian to be certified in anti-aging and functional medicine in the United States. He studied problem solving and strategic coaching, has also worked with NASA and the Russian Space Agency, and has been a contract professor at the University of Tor Vergata, the University of Bologna and King's College London. Today, between one book and the next (all published by Sperling & Kupfer), he works as a consultant and coach at an international level and pursues a very personal 'creed', namely that the concept of longevity must be based on solid scientific foundations and not on fashions of the moment in order to be truly effective. Even within a corporate organisation.

A conviction that has found its way into his latest literary effort, "The Longevity Mindset. I passi per cambiare mentalità e aggiungere vita agli anni" (published by Vallardi), a text that focuses on the mental and emotional side of an individual and assumes that what people want is to live better and not simply longer. To do this, Ongaro places the 'mindset' at the centre, which must be the pivot of any path towards longevity and aimed at improving daily habits and emotional management. The term 'mindset' refers to the way a person thinks and perceives the world and the ability with which he or she faces challenges and difficulties, manages emotions and relationships with others, and makes decisions; in essence, it is the system of beliefs, attitudes and perspectives that guides every behaviour and every reaction of an individual in his or her daily life, including, of course, at work.

The idea for this book, as stated in the introductory note that accompanied its launch, stems from the careful observation of the people the author has followed in their journeys over all these years, in which he has often found dissatisfaction, frustration, regret, unhappiness, toxic relationships and, looking at the strictly professional sphere, jobs that are detested and carried out in harmful environments. A critical emotional basis leads to behaviour that damages a person's health, and so two objectives are essential for everyone: on the one hand, learning how to delay the emergence of illnesses and reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and on the other hand, cultivating the correct 'mindset' (i.e. the correct mentality, understood as a combination of personal experience, education, culture and natural predispositions) so that living long is the real achievement.

The book is divided into five parts: in the first we find an invitation to a profound reflection on longevity that goes beyond the sensationalism surrounding this issue, which often overshadows how urgent it is to change perspective and ways of thinking about life extension.

In the second the role of the mindset in connection with longevity is explored, while in the third the concept of the collective mindset is addressed, i.e. what needs to change at the societal level in order to focus on a new concept of longevity. The fourth part, on the other hand, focuses on the practical approach needed to change the "mindset" and grow towards a new vision of longevity. In the fifth, finally, is a summary of the organic approach to longevity.