Life Lessons From 100-Year-Olds
May 29, 2022 8:51 AM Subscribe
I recently had dinner with a friend's 98yo mom who has this same attitude. So many happy memories. I wonder if they were always like that or if they got more positive as they aged. Much of my mom's life was pretty awful and she used to be quite gloomy, but now, in her 70s, she's one of the happiest people I know, so grateful and delighted in every little thing. I hope that happens to me too.
posted by HotToddy at 2:00 PM on May 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 2:00 PM on May 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
"...or if they got more positive as they aged."
Seems like a lot of people get more positive as they age.
[snip]
“The consistency was really striking,” said Dilip Jeste, director of the UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging and senior author of the study. “People who were in older life were happier, more satisfied, less depressed, had less anxiety and less perceived stress than younger respondents.”
The results were published Wednesday in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Googling "happier older life" has many hits.
posted by aleph at 2:13 PM on May 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seems like a lot of people get more positive as they age.
[snip]
“The consistency was really striking,” said Dilip Jeste, director of the UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging and senior author of the study. “People who were in older life were happier, more satisfied, less depressed, had less anxiety and less perceived stress than younger respondents.”
The results were published Wednesday in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Googling "happier older life" has many hits.
posted by aleph at 2:13 PM on May 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
That was lovely - very encouraging. Thank you so much. Now in my 70s I have never been more at peace and ease. I have all manner of arthritic pains but I seem able to accept them and live with them almost as companions. I do work arounds to work out and by and large that works - I get to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, do my qi gong/tai chi about as much. I love to read, mainly the wisdom traditions of the world in recent years (I'd rather learn from the experience of others than the slow and hard way ). I listen to music every day, walk into London to superb freebie lunchtime concerts in beautiful old churches, visit the galleries. I wasn't always like this so maybe it is the aging process. I am grateful for every day I get. My only goal is a quiet heart, a still mind and a smiling face. It's a complete surprise to me and especially to my wife. But it is true and it is bliss.
posted by dutchrick at 2:50 PM on May 29, 2022 [23 favorites]
posted by dutchrick at 2:50 PM on May 29, 2022 [23 favorites]
Enjoyed this immensely - thank you. I'm currently battling a not-too-bad depressive episode and this was a much welcomed perspective on a grey day. Somewhere in the comments someone wrote:
"We all have two lives. The second one begins when we realise that we only have one."
and this resonated very strongly today with me.
posted by whatevernot at 3:17 PM on May 29, 2022 [12 favorites]
"We all have two lives. The second one begins when we realise that we only have one."
and this resonated very strongly today with me.
posted by whatevernot at 3:17 PM on May 29, 2022 [12 favorites]
This is so lovely. At 60, I can't imagine another 40 or more years of this mess, though.
posted by dg at 11:38 PM on May 29, 2022
posted by dg at 11:38 PM on May 29, 2022
At 60, I can't imagine another 40 or more years of this mess, though.
DG, I came to the same conclusion as you at about the same age , (a teeny bit younger at 58). The good news is that kind of realisation can light the blue touch paper on change. Even better news is that you still have time. Let those lovely words and that blessed realisation sink in. Then make a start. Take 1% of 1% of that mess, or less! Pick the easiest, smallest thing possible and change it or change your attitude towards it. The latter is often enough and very much the best way. Nothing is too small or insignificant, everything you do will build your confidence. Make a note of what you did, whether or not it worked, and be super proud of yourself for making a start. There's a lot of living to be done in that 40 years and a heck of a lot of happiness to be had!
posted by dutchrick at 1:18 PM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
DG, I came to the same conclusion as you at about the same age , (a teeny bit younger at 58). The good news is that kind of realisation can light the blue touch paper on change. Even better news is that you still have time. Let those lovely words and that blessed realisation sink in. Then make a start. Take 1% of 1% of that mess, or less! Pick the easiest, smallest thing possible and change it or change your attitude towards it. The latter is often enough and very much the best way. Nothing is too small or insignificant, everything you do will build your confidence. Make a note of what you did, whether or not it worked, and be super proud of yourself for making a start. There's a lot of living to be done in that 40 years and a heck of a lot of happiness to be had!
posted by dutchrick at 1:18 PM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
[I'm a geriatrician since 1994.]
Do happier people tend to live longer? There's probably some research on that but I don't recall it. What I do know is that as people get old they continue to be themselves, and often their personality traits whatever they may be become stronger.
Some may think that it's boring to work with old people all the time but actually old people are very diverse in every way. You never know what they're going to say or do. I've long stopped trying to guess. You gotta ask.
posted by neuron at 10:02 PM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Do happier people tend to live longer? There's probably some research on that but I don't recall it. What I do know is that as people get old they continue to be themselves, and often their personality traits whatever they may be become stronger.
Some may think that it's boring to work with old people all the time but actually old people are very diverse in every way. You never know what they're going to say or do. I've long stopped trying to guess. You gotta ask.
posted by neuron at 10:02 PM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
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posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 12:24 PM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]