Growth

For continued life, there must be continued growth. We feel more alive if we are stimulated by new learning and new experiences.

Developing knowledge, skills or interests should characterise all phases of life. When we are younger, our education and our work necessitate growth – but later we must work out for ourselves how to grow. We may develop interests which are completely new. Or we may find ways to deepen the knowledge or skills that we started to acquire in earlier periods.

Growth usually requires effort. But this effort is rewarded by a sense of vitality or freshness.

Accentuate the positive

Accentuate the positive   By thinking positively, you are not only improving your outlook on life, but also your physical health. Research has shown that your mental and emotional health improves with age through a bigger focus on positivity. Psychologist Laura Carstensen calls this ‘socioemotional selectivity theory’. People growing older

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A Sense of purpose

A Sense of purpose On the Japanese island of Okinawa, the community’s mantra is ‘ikigai’ meaning a sense of purpose. They believe ‘ikigai’ is key to extending your lifespan as well as living a better life. There is also great research into this. An eleven year study followed healthy people

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Staying creative

Staying creative Bruce Miller, MD, a behavioural neurologist at University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, tells us: ‘While brains inevitably age, creative abilities do not necessarily deteriorate. Actually, the ageing brain responds well to art by allowing the brain’s two hemispheres to work more in tandem. This ability to

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Transformation

Transformation Many of us aspire to on living happily as we grow older but the question is, how do we actually achieve this? Robert Dilts looked into the psychological processes in becoming ‘A happy person who is adaptable and has a balanced life and harmonious social relationships’, he argues that

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