Reader's Digest

(avery) #1

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

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