Positive Aging Research Paper

Survival in a life or death situation is completely circumstantial and unpredictable.Laurence Gonzales’s central idea about survival in his essay “Deep Survival” is that it requires a positive mental attitude. Gonzales supports this claim by stating “...only by researching and dissecting the mysterious quality..called positive attitude would [he] ever understand survival” (334). Gonzales has presented a correct definition of a positive mindset as the most important tool in survival.A positive mindset compels a person to stay calm,make rational decisions and prevent them from giving up.

I believe that in life you have to have a positive mindset on the things you do. Having a positive mindset will influence the things that you do. If you are constantly being negative then negative things will happen to you, but if you are positive, positive things will happen to you.

Each and every individual faces obstacles and limitations unique to their own circumstances, and the way that those obstacles are met and overcome ultimately determine the fulfillment and happiness that person is able to acquire. Perhaps one of the most influential but commonly looked over influences on one’s development is the attitude of others, in addition to one’s own attitude. While a kind, strong, responsible, driven attitude can empower one to lead a fulfilling life, the positivity of others is equally as effective. Whether it be despite perseverance and optimism of the individual or in junction with the two, the attitudes of others’ have the ability to influence one’s life in significant ways. The

One of the key arguments for mental health being the important factor in successful aging is a person’s self-perception about aging (SPA) (Monko, 2016). Specifically, that SPA has a bearing on disease progression and perceived quality of life (Monko, 2016). That is, the higher the SPA, the more positive the sense of well-being,

“The term ‘aging out’ refers to children within a state’s foster care system who are still in the system upon reaching the age of majority or when they have graduated from high school” (Craft, 2017, Aging Out). Many of these children “have not found permanency with an adoptive family … or they have not been able to return to their biological parents” (Craft, 2017, Aging Out). A child typically ages out at 18 years, “but some states have extended services beyond this age because so many young adults are just not ready to be thrust out into the world on their own at such a young age” (Craft, 2017, Aging Out). If a foster parent chooses to continue parenting the foster child once they have aged out of the system, they are able to as long as the foster youth is okay with this. If an individual continues fostering a child, they will no longer receive money from the state.

Aging is an inevitability of life. With age man exchanges the physical prowess of youth for the wisdom that comes through experiencing the trials and triumphs of life. As an individual enters late adulthood, age 65 and older, they experience many physical, emotional and mental changes never previously encountered and which may require an adaptation of their earlier lifestyle. Some of these late adulthood changes are primary and secondary aging, issues regarding health and wellness, family and personal relationships, and the milestone of retirement. Understanding these changes can help late age adults

Lang, explains through a series of scientific studies that pessimism can sometimes be a better form of seeing life than optimism. Throughout the article studies are being done on different age groups, the youngest group always shows a “sunny” outlook on life while the middle aged group is logical and realistic. Optimism has shown health complications and mental issues in older people (Lang, 2013). I usually do not think negatively about life, but as an improvement I should start seeing life for what it truly is, unpredictable and inconvenient in order to prevent a distasteful lifestyle in the

Analyzing late adulthood and the death of an individual as a culmination of the life span development process one must understand late adulthood consists of. This paper will give a brief overview of ageism and stereotypes associate with late adulthood. This will explain how health and wellness techniques in the late adulthood stages can mitigate the negative effects of aging. As people age the social views and experiences changes in relationships and interactions with individuals, as he or she nears end of life. When closely approaching the end of life, a person has cultural and personal attitudes about death and dignity in late adulthood.

An experiment performed on young and old people showed that when the participants were told negative stereotypes about their intellect they performed worse on memory tests than those who were not told a stereotype. This research concludes that negative stereotypes have a negative effect on a person’s mental capacity and increases their mental aging. The finding that negative thoughts about elders magnifies their mental decline is seen in another experiment performed on older American and Chinese people to test the mental aging across cultures. The Chinese elders, who are generally optimistic about their age, performed higher on different skill tests than the American elders, who are generally unhappy with aging, did. This shows that aging may be due to social reasons as well as natural aging. Ageism occurs almost everywhere, including hospitals and doctor’s offices. Many health professionals do not want to work with older patients because of the general stereotypes for old people and they sometimes do not receive the proper care and treatment that they need. This discrimination in the health care system adds to the decline of physical and mental health in older people. People who believe the age stereotypes are more prone to becoming those stereotypes. Getting rid of these negative stereotypes and not viewing aging as bad can improve a person’s mental and physical health as they age and help them live longer. Elders who tend to fall into the negative stereotypes tend to have a higher mortality rate than those who do not. Pushing positive views of aging and older people can greatly increase their overall quality of life. There are many different ways to eliminate negative views of aging. Being more open to the idea of growing old and retiring, shining light on the benefits of a great life after retirement, having strong social bonds, educating people of all ages

Many people have an incorrect stereotype about an idea that says children born with either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset since this idea determines whether a person is going to be successful or unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the researchers have discovered that the mindsets are changeable even for adults. However, changing from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset is beneficial because it helps students to reach their goals; moreover, the effects of this change could emerge in learning more, relishing challenges, and working hard.

As aging is a stage of development that cannot prevented, the question of “can one’s aging be more successful than another?” is posed my many. Researchers continually consider the differences between aging successfully, and aging unsuccessfully. As researchers work to complete their studies, many find a reoccurring basis of successful aging. A basis of successful aging can be set including: physical health disease free, chronic illness free, mental health disease free, among many others. The only problem with this basis is the difference from person to person in terms of what makes aging successful. As individuals age, their mental state is a large predictor of how the person will age. A positive mental state about aging, will have a more positive effect on a person’s aging process. Many factors may influence the positivity of aging, such as negative aging stereotypes and discrimination because of older age. These negative aging stereotypes include but are not limited to: older adults are not as smart, older adults are angry all the time, older adults are bad drivers, older adults are isolated and never socialize. In adult aging and development, having a positive outlook on aging will lead to better mental and physical aging.

Aging comes naturally and people should not be frighten be it. As it turns out the fear of this process is enough to speed it up. The negative attitude is a very powerful factor in this process and has a great effect on the physical aspect of aging. It is enough to put people into deep depression or lose their confidence with many other things like good posture. On the other hand maintaining a positive thinking can really slow the process down. In fact it can do miracles, regular exercises and healthy diet can bring new life. Often people feel threatened by aging and put a hold on their lives, while they should be constantly evolving as they go through life. With positive thinking, it is all possible. This paper will show that despite

They influence one's ability to take action for his own health. Positive attitude and beliefs could eventually lead to better perception towards one's health and would prompt an individual to participate and take an active role in his care.

There are numerous ways to define successful aging. The word “aging” usually has a negative connotation. However, when putting the word success behind it introduces positive aspects that can essentially promote a long-term developmental outcome for an individual. Happening around midlife and late adulthood, successful aging is simply when an individual has complete development and maintenance of control throughout life, has achieved in the selection of goals and purposes, as well as maximization of gains and compensations of failure. This is the complete and ultimate goal for those in their late adulthood and is quite fascinating to developmental scientist. Those who engross themselves with attempting to achieve a successful aging will most likely have characteristics which in turn encourage and advocate for things such as health, growth, and vitality, maintaining social encounters and productive activities, and lastly maintaining high physical and cognitive functioning. Two developmental scientist, Vaillant & Mukamal, have discovered the factors that predict satisfaction of life are those an individual is able to control. These factors include are health habits, marital stability, years of education, and coping strategies. On the other hand those factors that are out of an individual 's control can not predict the level of happiness or satisfaction with life. These include the length of life of a family member, early health status, parental SES, and family warmth in

Maintaining a positive attitude all through life impacts one's social status, physical health, and long term success. Many people only want to hangout with others that have good attitudes. They also enjoy being in the presence of others who have the ability to lift them up when they are down. Having a good attitude shows a person’s character in a positive way. A good attitude is the start to a good future, and a lot of success. Positive attitudes create a lot of wonderful opportunities in and outside of the workforce. Overall, a good personal character will create an easier route to achieve difficult goals and tasks causing a more trustworthy person to be created.