Are you wondering what mindset has to do with how you age? Isn’t healthy aging more about eating well and getting exercise? Well yes, these are important. So is having a sense of purpose and enjoying good relationships/community.

Add your mindset to the list. Much of the recent research on healthy aging cites some aspect of mindset as a significant contributor to aging well. One study of optimism found over a 30-year period that persons with optimism decreased their risk of early death by about 20%.

Becca Levy’s book, Breaking the Age Code (2022), is all about how beliefs about aging influence health span and age span. As a reminder, Dr. Levy found that research participants with positive age beliefs lived on average 7.5 years longer than those with more negative beliefs.

Don’t you think there is...

Have you ever considered doing something that sounded fun or interesting, but it just made you feel too anxious and full of fear?

This is part 3 of a three-article series about common ways we hold ourselves back from living the life we truly desire. The first article discussed how easy it is to find ways to talk ourselves out of making life changes that will move us toward fulfillment.

The second article explored the role of “busyness” in keeping us stuck when we truly desire something different.

Finally, we will normalize the fears that may arise when we decide to make a change in the comfortable status quo of our daily lives.

What Are You Anxious About?

When we want to try something new or make a change in our life, it is perfectly normal to feel apprehension, fear, or nervousness. These are...

For many of us, early January is a time of dreaming about the year ahead. I just love taking the time for this with a cup of cacao or tea wrapped in my aqua Afghan made by a friend. Find your special place to focus on your own desires.

Perhaps you dream of following an interest long ignored or deepening love in your life. Maybe, like me, you dream of some new adventures to keep the spark shining brightly. Some women desire to make more of an impact in the world or to slow down and live a simpler life. What are you dreaming of?

Then, what can you do to take your dreams out of the “dream world” and into the life you live?

Bringing to life our deepest desires requires faith and trust because usually it is not clear how we can make them reality. That is a good thing! If you know how to accomplish something, then it is a goal, rather than a dream. We deserve to...

We are continuing our exploration of the four vitality domains that influence your health span, now focusing on the area of meaning/purpose and creativity. Isn’t it time to be your own heroine and be/do what has been waiting in the wings?

What brings you a sense of meaning? What gets you up in the morning looking forward to the day? Are you putting your unique talents/gifts to use somehow? Why let them lie dormant? Consider your own sense of meaning as you read!

Why Is a Sense of Meaning Important?

A sense of meaning, however that manifests for you, is not only essential to quality of life but longevity as well. That is what we mean by ‘health span’ – years lived + quality of life. Research suggests that a sense...

One of the blessings for many of us in our 60s and beyond is living a comfortable life. This does not imply riches. It means we have found a way to have ‘enough’. We have given our time to our work/profession and family. Now is our time to relax and enjoy life. We want to enjoy our comfort. We deserve to enjoy comfort.

Still, for many women there can be a yearning or dissatisfaction lurking just under the surface.

The Lure of Comfort

Now that I have married my love, I feel full. Recently, I have faced my own complacency...