There are so many different remedies out there as to what it takes to age successfully. And here I am adding that a growth mindset is the answer. Your mindset is what you believe about yourself. The view that you have of yourself profoundly influences the way you lead your life. If you believe that you can grow and change throughout life you will put effort into developing your talents, interests, values and personality. If, however, you believe that you are the way you are and there is not much you can do about it, you will end up limiting your potential.
Let’s look at exercise. With a fixed mindset you are apt to tell yourself that your body is the way it is and not challenge yourself to make changes in your diet or incorporate exercise into your schedule. Likewise, if you think that your personality characteristics are set, you are not going to be open to looking at how to make changes.
I am remembering Harold who had an anger problem and was convinced that there was nothing he could do about it. After all since he was a little boy people had commented about his anger problem. It was no wonder that his relationships suffered as a result. It was not until Harold opened himself up to developing a growth mindset and learned new skills for dealing with his anger that constructive change began to happen in how he viewed himself and how he related with others. Fortunately by applying conscious effort we can make changes that take us from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. And if we keep doing that throughout our life we will indeed age successfully.
Keeping an open mind, powered by a feeling of positive mental attitude, is more important as we age so we don’t think in the same old paradigms but open ourselves to creativity and new choices
Interesting about Harold. He believed what all of the people told him about his anger problem until he finally realized he has options. People do forget that, don’t we?
Very interesting post. It seems half the problem when defining a problem is the way we define it. When we can shift our perspective and define it differently, then a whole different set of possibilities open up.