The article highlights her famous research about the fact that taking a positive mindset to one’s aging adds 7.5 years of additional life, which is more impactful than stopping smoking or starting to exercise, both of which get a lot of public health attention in the form of PSA’s (Public Service Announcements). MEA (and my upcoming book “Learning to Love Midlife”) intends to be a pro-aging PSA.
Here are the five ways the article outlines for shifting your mindset on aging:
- Notice where your age beliefs come from. To change your negative age beliefs, you first need to become more aware of them. Try a week of “age belief journaling,” in which you write down every portrayal of an older person — whether in a movie, on social media, or in a conversation. Then, question if that portrayal was negative or positive and whether the person could have been presented differently. Simply identifying the sources of your conceptions about aging can help you gain some distance from negative ideas.
- Find aging role models. Dr. Levy recommends coming up with five older people who have done something you deem impressive or have a quality you admire, whether falling in love later in life, showing devotion to helping others, or maintaining a commitment to physical fitness.
- Don’t mistake forced positivity for optimism. Research suggests that optimistic women are more likely to live past 90 than less optimistic women, regardless of race or ethnicity. But thinking more positively about aging doesn’t mean papering over real concerns with happy thoughts. Instead, try to look at the honest reality with optimism. If you’re feeling deflated that your tennis game isn’t as strong in your 70s as it once was, remind yourself: “No, I can’t play tennis like I did when I was 50, and I can only play for 10 minutes. But I can still play.”
- Challenge your fears about getting older. Examine your worries about the process and then reflect on how troubling those concerns are. Just because your right knee has to be replaced doesn’t mean your left knee needs replacing, even though it’s the same age.
- Don’t dismiss the benefits. Focus on what you’re gaining, too. Research has shown that emotional well-being generally increases with age, and certain aspects of cognition, like conflict resolution, often improve in later life.
It’s this fifth suggestion that I want to double-click on. The ageist messages we hear all the time tend to focus on how the body or mind deteriorates with time because the U.S. is a culture obsessed with the physical. But there are so many other areas of our life where things get better with age. Here are 12 examples of positively affirmative statements that we could say as we age:
1. “I Have More Life Left Than I Thought”
2. “I’m Relieved My Body No Longer Defines Me”
3. “I’m Making Friends With My Emotions”
4. “I Invest in My Social Wellness”
5. “I Have No More ‘Fucks’ Left to Give”
6. “I’m Marveling at My Wisdom”
7. “I Understand How My Story Serves Me”
8. “I’ve Learned How to Edit My Life”
9. “I’m Joyously Stepping off the Treadmill”
10. “I’m Starting to Experience Time Affluence”
11. “I’ve Discovered My Soul”
12. “I Feel Like I’m Growing Whole”
Which of these “12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better With Age” (the subtitle of my upcoming book) most resonate with you? They represent 12 of the 14 chapters in my book. Take this 5-7 minute quiz, and we’ll show you how your perspective on these statements compares with others.
-Chip