The Importance of Cultivating and Maintaining a Positive Mindset After 45

The Mind Significantly Influences the Body.

Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash

Growing Old is Not a Disease

Our mindset underlies everything we do, and scientists have shown it to have a powerful influence on bodily outcomes. According to a website featuring Dr Ellen Langer, a professor at Harvard University, she concludes from the studies she’s carried out into mindset that “the mind has enormous control over the body” (Langer, 2009, p. 10).

What does positive ageing mean? The concept of positive ageing is keeping a good attitude about life and making the most of the benefits that come with each new chapter. It is about keeping a self-growth mindset as we might in any other phase of life. A self-growth mindset allows us to view the challenges of growing older as opportunities for personal growth and development. By embracing positivity, we can reduce stress, boost our immune system, and enhance our overall well-being.

It has its roots in Positive Psychology, a new branch of scientific psychology that focuses on individuals’ and communities’ positive aspects and strengths as a path to wellbeing, rather than pathology. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

It’s easy to confuse ageing with the effects of not looking after your health and wellbeing. Growing old is not a disease. Ageing doesn’t have to mean inevitable decline. We can take control of our aging process. Taking control means we cease to feel like a victim and then it’s easier to be positive about growing older. Feeling like a victim can lead to the relinquishing of control of how you age. It’s poor diet and lack of exercise, along with out-of-control stress, that leads to disease.

It’s even more important that people are encouraged to take control of their own health and wellbeing when being ill costs so much. We see from America how having to pay for treatment can lead to a lifetime of worsening disease or a premature death for those not able to cover the costs of their illness/disease. In the UK, plans for our National Health Service are well underway for it to be privatised. Already, treatments that were once free are now being charged for.

Every Age Has its Pros and Cons

Taking responsibility for your own health means ensuring you live your life with purpose, eat healthily, exercise regularly, connect with others, manage your stress levels, and maintain a sense of humour and childlike curiosity. Don’t engage in negative talk about age. I’ve made the conscious decision to refer to myself as “old” as little as possible. I actually feel ageless and I think that’s quite common.

Also, if someone says they can no longer do something “because I’m old”, I question whether it’s actually their age or maybe it’s because their muscles are now weak because they haven’t been exercised, perhaps they’re no longer flexible after sitting too long in the same position. Blaming the actual reason for the inability rather than age would encourage them to address the core issue involved why they can no longer do something. 

Maintaining a positive mindset means not dwelling on negative issues. It’s tempting when with older friends to join in the discussions of their health and latest medications; you may well have some yourself, and, of course, an exchange of health updates is important in friendships. However, swiftly moving the conversation on to more life enhancing subjects will help everyone be more hopeful and optimistic.

Thinking positively rather than focusing on the limitations can help you see the opportunities that come with aging. It can encourage you to stay active, keeping yourself strong and independent, to try new things, and maintain healthy relationships. Also, to accept the changes that come with each new decade, with resilience and fortitude. Every age has its pros and cons; maybe after sixty the cons begin to outnumber the pros: you may need to wear glasses, your skin starts to lose its elasticity, reduced hearing ability could mean hearing aids. Yet there is still much to enjoy and promote about being in our older years. We can still live a full and active life.

Language is very important, which is why it’s so odd that beauty product manufacturers advertise their goods as being “anti-ageing”. Being anti-racist means being against racism. Anti-sexism means being against sexism. Obviously, what they actually mean is “pro-ageing” because they can’t mean they’re against aging; after all, what’s the alternative?

Ashley Applewhite is a writer and activist based in Brooklyn, New York. She’s said to be the leading spokesperson for an emerging movement to raise awareness of ageism and to dismantle it. Her book This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism was published in 2016. She is quoted as saying: “The sooner growing older is stripped of reflective dread, the better equipped we are to benefit from the countless ways in which it can enrich us.”

There is now a social media movement aimed at changing the negative narrative about aging to a more positive one, especially as scientists are increasing our knowledge about how we can stay healthy as long as possible. They are the longevity experts that tell us decline is not inevitable. I consider myself to be a part of this movement to change the common thinking around ageing to a more hopeful and forward thinking version. This should eventually lead to the stamping out of ageism. Who’s with me?

Sources:
*Ellen Langer quote: https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history of-happiness/ellen-langer/
*positivepsychology.com
*thischairrocks.com 
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashton_Applewhite

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Don’t forget to mention in the Comments what you think about this emerging movement to dismantle ageism and whether you feel that you are, or intend to be, a part of it.