Aging - Keeping A Good Attitude As We Age

How we think depends on how old we feel. Do we think we are old at fifty years? If so, then we will probably feel old too. During my life I have waged a war against aging; not by denying that I am aging but by the age I think ‘old’ is. ‘Old’ has always been determined in my thoughts as being at least 15 to 20 years older than I ever am at the time. And I have never said I’m too old for anything. Once you say you are too old, you will be.

In general I believe it is important to continue to try new things as we age even though I may not bungee jump or ride the Hollywood Tower of Terror at Disneyland. But I didn’t do those things when I was twenty either. I also believe it is important as we age to spend time with people who are younger than ourselves; their younger attitudes will make us feel upbeat and younger than if we surround ourselves only with those who are older.

Studies show that psychosocial factors as well as genes and general health will help to determine how we age. By being positive, happy, optimistic and making plans for the future will determine the image we have of ourselves and our feelings of ‘being old’. (I recently heard about a seventy-five year old man who was building himself a new house.)

Many times throughout my life I have thought, ‘I’m just starting my life’ which is similar to the well-known saying, ‘it’s the first day of the rest of my life’. With this attitude, the next thought must surely be, ‘how much can I accomplish in the rest of my life?’ The answer is, ‘a lot’. I believe that as we age it is important to grow in our thoughts, to continue to add to our own lives as well as to others; and to continually strive towards remaining independent by being involved in life in whatever capacity our bodies allow us to be. “I can” should, no matter our age, be important words in our vocabularies.

It is important also, I believe to be confident in our abilities and our roles in life. What is our role in life? Are we involved grandparents, volunteers for a worthy organization, or social butterflies? As long as we are happy in our roles and feel that our lives are full and we are accomplishing something, we will feel younger than if we were sitting uninvolved and with few social contacts.

I also believe that coping strategies have a large bearing on our health, as well as our aging process. There will be many changes in our lives, that we will have to adapt to and if we have good coping skills, will be easier to get through these challenges. (My mother is an example of not coping with changes. She moved into an assisted living home and didn’t adjust well; she was in and out of hospitals for several months even going so far as refusing to eat.)

So, think young, live young and you’ll feel young. Live life to its fullest – life is too short to feel old before you have to. You have to start when you’re young but remember that ‘young’ can be at any age.