Secret of Living Longer

In India average retirement age is 60. Retirement age is something like warranty period. And if the warranty of a product is over it dos not mean that it will stop working. It all depends upon how you use it. So in my humble opinion in terms of human life,  one should learn to Age Well.

When I say Age Well, it has something to do with self acceptance, a positive attitude, creative expression, purposeful living spiritual connection all anchor successful and meaningful aging. In fact, these kinds of preparations are just as important as saving money for life after retirement.

Savor Self Acceptance

While most people believe adulthood is the final stage of life, I say that identify another life chapter : elderhood. Once you reach elderhood develop skill of approaching time, money, faith and relationship. In an interesting novel the best chapters should be near the end of the book. Once you appreciate yourself and your years, you start relinquish outdated expectations and start seeking to discover your true self. Then the world can open upto you.

Living a rewarding life means, we are willing to say that chapters of my life will now be more interesting.The secret is that it is now the time when rather than feeling consumed by what we have to do, we should focus on what we want to do!

Fill the Funnel of Friends 

For the older people, relationships offer foundational connections; but as we age, friends drift away, relocate or die. Successful aging requires refilling our funnel of friends. In fact socially engaged elders with friends are wealthier than a socially isolated millionaire. In the age of social media, particularly FaceBook (FB)it is easy to locate even your long lost friends. Believe me, I am able to connect with a friend of mine who did her Post Graduation with me in 1975, precisely 42 years back thanks to FB, I feel delighted to share so many things with her. If you do not have time for FB or any other social media platforms, atleast talk to shopkeepers or smile at a  stranger walking with her dog !

Cultivate A Positive Attitude

Our beliefs about aging shape our experiences. The old individuals with more positive self perceptions of aging live longer. In fact a study at Yale university found that the additional span may be 7.5 years.

Connected with positive role models helps us release limiting beliefs and embrace an attitude of gratitude instead. Other life lessons can be gleaned from observing how negativity affects people physically, emotionally as well as socially.

Holding onto regrets traps us in the past zapping energy and self worth; it also keeps the best in us from shining out. A simple letting go ceremony, with friends as witness, if possible, hold it in a natural outdoor setting.

Understand Our Life Stories

Creating our own life review helps us acknowledge and understand our most significant experiences and reminds us of all we are bringing to our elder journey. We can start with : 

* Develop a timeline dividing life into seven-year sections. For each, write about the strongest memories and most influential people.

* Consider what matters most, from people and values to challenges and dreams.

* Write for children and grandchildren sharing tales of our life's most significant events and lessons.

* Record key stories on audio or video

Explore The Arts

The changes that aging brings can mire elders in depression and isolation. Older people need to be brave and resilient. To age creatively, we need a flow of valid experiences, exploring new activities or reframing longtime interests from a fresh perspective.

Expressive arts can engage people's mind, bodies and spirits. Those who engage in arts are happier and healthier.

To unearth the inner artist, ask a question to yourself : which senses do I most like to engage ?

* Do I enjoy looking at art or listening to music?

* Do I like sharing feelings and experiences?

A thrill may come from writing stories or plays, acting or story telling

As a child, what did I yearn to do;may be play guitar, paint or engineer a train set? Now it is the best time to turn those dreams into reality.

Discover A Purpose

Upon retirement some people feel purposeless and lost. They yearn for something that offers up excitement, energy and joy.

Choose what inspire you to get out of bed each day, eager to move into action. 

Develop Inner Frontiers

People in their elder years may still be measured by middle standards, which include physical power, productivity and achievement. Rather aging allows us to disengage from the pressures of appearances and accomplishments. As we release judgments and unwanted habits, we may increase our feeling of spirituality and peace.

It is time to cultivate inner resources that offer us joy and meaning. We have privilege of slowing down and hearing what our heart is saying.

Helping The World

In today's world of chaos and crisis, the wisdom of elders is more important than ever. Older people need to be engaged, using their insights to help the Earth, Community and the World. Creative aging is about improving the future for subsequent generations. There are so many ways, take-up a project as per your physical and mental capacity. Environmental protection, helping students to complete their education, strengthening local communities scope is very big.