Reader's Digest

62 | July• 2018

that events that may be considered

negative can have positive outcomes.”

Life has taken Maggie Georgopou-

los 46 on a winding path through a

number of jobs and continents but

she’s found happiness in the life that

she’s created.

“My happiness comes from within

me” Georgopoulos says. “Because

I have created a path to the life that

I would like to live I am OK when

things go wrong because I can see the

good that will eventually come.”

HAPPINESS

POINTERS FOR LIFE

If you’re hoping to remain happy un-

til your inal days researchers recom-

mend the following:

• Adjust your attitudeYou may not
  be able to control what happens to
  you but you can control how you re-
  act. “It is possible to develop the habit
  of seeing the positive side of things”
  Dominguez says. “Many people com-
  plain of not being happy but they also
  do nothing to change it.”
  Learning to be more optimistic is a
  good irst step.
  “Start by recognising negative
  thoughts and question them”
  Dominguez says. “For example: Is the
  situation really as bad as I think? Is
  there another way to approach it?”


• Interact differently with your
  spouseAfter decades together many
  husbands and wives become so fa-
  miliar with one another they’re not
  as kind to each other as they should

ageingarehappierthanthosewitha
negative perception of ageing.
“hepositiveperceptionofageing
is not always correlated with having
good health” says geriatric specialist
Ligia Dominguez at the University of
Palermooneofthestudyauthors.
“In our everyday clinical practice
wewitnesstouchingexamplesofthis
humanability–calledresilience–in
theguiseofmanyolderpersonswho
independently or with family and/or
social support maintain a good qual-
ityoflifeanddeclarefeelingwell in
spiteoftheirhealthailments.”

HAPPINESS&SELF-CARE

Optimismandresiliencecanhelp
youbehappyintooldage.
“The mechanism for the associa-
tion between optimism and success-
ful ageing may well be that optimistic
older adults have the ability to cope
with the curve balls of life” Carver
says. “hey are resilient. hey express
life satisfaction despite upset plans
and losses because they have adapted
their expectations and have accepted