"Live like you're going to die tomorrow and learn like you're going to live forever."
- Mahatma Gandhi*
This is a wonderful quote, something that encapsulates my own philosophy. As a Woman of a Certain Age it's natural that I have an obvious concern/interest in positive aging for women. So, I think it is important for us to have an optimistic attitude about what we can do and not to be limited by age. Live every moment to its fullest and never stop trying something new. Use your time well by setting priorities and goals for yourself and then persevere until that goal is completed. Then, set a new goal.
Positive aging means having the right attitude, one that says as important as aging is it's more than a number. In an article in Harvard Health Woman's Watch** from last year, Dr. Laura Kubzansky, professor of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health describes what she and her colleagues discovered when they studied the health effects of several forms of psychological well-being. "She has found that emotional vitality—characterized by enthusiasm, hopefulness, engagement in life, and the ability to face life's stresses with emotional balance—is associated with a substantially reduced risk of heart attack and stroke."
Dr. Kubzanksy suggests these ideas to help with positive aging. Don't dwell on your age. Focus on what is most important. Practice mindfulness. Keep a sense of purpose. In other words, feel younger than your age, pay less attention to troubles than triumphs, accept your feelings, and make forced changes into opportunities. All this has been proven to extend your life.
So, with that extended life, keep on making goals (remember SMART goals) and accomplishing them, never stop learning.
*I also found the quote with "as if" in place of "like."
**How Your Attitudes Affect Your Health - http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/how-your-attitudes-affect-your-health
