Seven Strategies for Positive Aging - Introduction
Seven Strategies for Positive Aging by: Robert D. Hill, Ph.D.
Summarized by: Justin Hill, M.Ed.
In my previous book, Positive Aging: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, “Positive Agers” are those who:
Positive Agers are individuals who have discovered how to live better and gain meaning from self-improvement.
In Seven Strategies for Positive Aging, I discuss maturity as an interplay between your unique character and personal attributes and how you use these to manage your life.
Robert Atchley (1999) uses a case study of a woman named Edna to illustrate how a positive ager adapts:
By 1991, Edna’s physical mobility problems had worsened considerably, but at age 88 she still maintained her very positive outlook on life…. She adapted her lifestyle to her more homebound state by doing less gardening and cutting back on her participation in politics…. However, she… spent more time with her collection of family photographs and memorabilia, and watched more television.... Adapting to her changing mobility was a major goal…. And she accomplished this goal with her usual positive approach, planning, and creativity. In 1995, Edna still had very high moral, a realistic appraisal of her personal agency and a very…. Satisfying life. (pp. 19-20).
If Edna would have focused on the negatives of her situation, it would have been a recipe for disaster, leading her to discouragement, and not being able to realize her goals.
The goal of Seven Strategies for Positive Aging is to help you practice strategies that promote optimal adjustment in old age.
The Seven Strategies can be learned by anyone. If you take the time to apply them, they will help address the difficult challenges that life sends your way. Each strategy provides activities you can perform to enhance well-being. In addition, your personal resources don’t factor into whether or not the strategies can be learned and used.
The following techniques discuss how to generate meaning.
Strategy 1 - You Can Find Meaning in Old Age
Life happens. And, as we move through the stages of life, we develop meaning. Meaning comes from our evolving interests, our occupations, our social circles, and our values and beliefs. A fulfilling life is one that has meaning.
A big challenge for people as they age is fear of loss, especially in the face of evidence like the death of a loved one, changes in living circumstances, and age-related memory decline.
Seven Strategies for Positive Aging covers how meaning can be found even in loss and decline. In fact, the following techniques can generate meaning with aging.
Strategy 2 - You're Never Too Old to Learn
Learning keeps active those tendencies that help you feel youthful. Curiosity, the pursuit of knowledge just for the fun of it, discovery, and the role of self-reflection as a form of personal renewal, are important elements in lifelong learning.
Strategy 3 - You Can Use the Past to Cultivate Wisdom
Wisdom is cultivated by learning from the past to make our present and future better.
Strategy 4 - You Can Strengthen Life-Span Relationships
Belonging can add significant meaning to your life as you connect and maintain your social networks. The skill of belonging can help maintain these social ties.
Strategy 5 - By Giving and Receiving Help, You Promote Growth
Altruism, or acts of giving, can promote Positive Aging. Helping involves both giving and receiving assistance and the science of gerontology has shown that giving help and volunteering can indeed be a source of physical renewal and improved longevity in old age.
Strategy 6 - You Can Forgive Yourself and Others
Emotions such as kindness, compassion, and sympathy emerge as one develops a forgiving approach to living. Positive Agers recognize that the world is not perfect and that forgiveness is needed to repair damage and hurt.
Strategy 7 - You Can Possess a Grateful Attitude
A grateful attitude is key in challenges and difficulties, which can turn into opportunities for personal development.
Summarized by: Justin Hill, M.Ed.
In my previous book, Positive Aging: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals and Consumers, “Positive Agers” are those who:
- Use resources to confront challenges of aging.
- Choose activities that promote well-being.
- Learn to be flexible.
- Focus on the positives.
Positive Agers are individuals who have discovered how to live better and gain meaning from self-improvement.
In Seven Strategies for Positive Aging, I discuss maturity as an interplay between your unique character and personal attributes and how you use these to manage your life.
Robert Atchley (1999) uses a case study of a woman named Edna to illustrate how a positive ager adapts:
By 1991, Edna’s physical mobility problems had worsened considerably, but at age 88 she still maintained her very positive outlook on life…. She adapted her lifestyle to her more homebound state by doing less gardening and cutting back on her participation in politics…. However, she… spent more time with her collection of family photographs and memorabilia, and watched more television.... Adapting to her changing mobility was a major goal…. And she accomplished this goal with her usual positive approach, planning, and creativity. In 1995, Edna still had very high moral, a realistic appraisal of her personal agency and a very…. Satisfying life. (pp. 19-20).
If Edna would have focused on the negatives of her situation, it would have been a recipe for disaster, leading her to discouragement, and not being able to realize her goals.
The goal of Seven Strategies for Positive Aging is to help you practice strategies that promote optimal adjustment in old age.
The Seven Strategies can be learned by anyone. If you take the time to apply them, they will help address the difficult challenges that life sends your way. Each strategy provides activities you can perform to enhance well-being. In addition, your personal resources don’t factor into whether or not the strategies can be learned and used.
The following techniques discuss how to generate meaning.
Strategy 1 - You Can Find Meaning in Old Age
Life happens. And, as we move through the stages of life, we develop meaning. Meaning comes from our evolving interests, our occupations, our social circles, and our values and beliefs. A fulfilling life is one that has meaning.
A big challenge for people as they age is fear of loss, especially in the face of evidence like the death of a loved one, changes in living circumstances, and age-related memory decline.
Seven Strategies for Positive Aging covers how meaning can be found even in loss and decline. In fact, the following techniques can generate meaning with aging.
- Reframing decline as an opportunity to focus on the things that really matter.
- Making life choices that help you continue to find meaning.
- Seeing challenges as opportunities for personal growth.
Strategy 2 - You're Never Too Old to Learn
Learning keeps active those tendencies that help you feel youthful. Curiosity, the pursuit of knowledge just for the fun of it, discovery, and the role of self-reflection as a form of personal renewal, are important elements in lifelong learning.
Strategy 3 - You Can Use the Past to Cultivate Wisdom
Wisdom is cultivated by learning from the past to make our present and future better.
Strategy 4 - You Can Strengthen Life-Span Relationships
Belonging can add significant meaning to your life as you connect and maintain your social networks. The skill of belonging can help maintain these social ties.
Strategy 5 - By Giving and Receiving Help, You Promote Growth
Altruism, or acts of giving, can promote Positive Aging. Helping involves both giving and receiving assistance and the science of gerontology has shown that giving help and volunteering can indeed be a source of physical renewal and improved longevity in old age.
Strategy 6 - You Can Forgive Yourself and Others
Emotions such as kindness, compassion, and sympathy emerge as one develops a forgiving approach to living. Positive Agers recognize that the world is not perfect and that forgiveness is needed to repair damage and hurt.
Strategy 7 - You Can Possess a Grateful Attitude
A grateful attitude is key in challenges and difficulties, which can turn into opportunities for personal development.