Living 100 Mindset | Aging | AARP International

As we age...

Our outlook on ~~aging~~ living can make or break us

The Impact

Our outlook can guard against cognitive decline.

A positive attitude toward aging contributes to better future health and a lower risk of dementia, even among those with high-risk gene.

Preventive Medicine, 2004; PLOS One, 2018

Ageist stereotypes at work can become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Studies show that, in the workplace, knowing you’re being stereotyped can negatively affect your performance and motivation.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2016

Getting older can mean doing what we always dreamed of, like starting a business.

A 2009 survey found there were twice as many successful high-growth start-up founders over 50 than under 25.

Kauffman Foundation, 2009

The Takeaway

Think positively - because it matters.

Advice from Real People

“I recently stopped dyeing my hair and embraced my natural grey. I figured if I was cool with dark hair, I’d be even more so now. It’s a good lesson for my kids: My hair doesn’t change who I am.”

“ I like sharing my experience with my grandkids. I had a career in costume design, so I can show them how to make outfits they can wear to school. It warms my heart to see how much they love it.”

“At 61, my aunt was elected to state congress. She said her age gives her wisdom and tenacity to be a strong public servant. She’s enjoying her later years, having shifted from raising a family to representing a whole community.”

The Research

People who view aging positively tend to live longer.

“ Older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging.”

Kauffman Foundation, 2009

Having negative views on aging increases your likelihood of ending up in the hospital.

“ Subjects over age 70 were assessed over 10 years. Those who held more negative age stereotypes were associated with a 50% greater likelihood of experiencing a hospitalization.”

Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2015.

When we change how we view our lives, our bodies follow suit.

“ Female room attendants working in seven different hotels were told that the work they do (cleaning hotel rooms) is good exercise. As a result, compared with the control group, they showed a decrease in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index.”

Psychological Science, 2007A 2009 survey found there were twice as many successful high-growth start-up founders over 50 than under 25.

Implications of Living 100

In April 2018, AARP brought together a variety of experts and thought leaders in Washington, D.C. to discuss how we can live our best lives as they grow longer. The daylong conversation, “Disrupt Aging: Implications of Living 100”, was a forum for some 400 attendees, including business leaders, health professionals and entrepreneurs to understand what it will mean for society when it becomes commonplace to live to 100 and beyond. What those in attendance heard from speakers such as personal finance guru Suze Orman, journalist Ann Curry and best-selling author Cheryl Strayed was the importance of cultivating close relationships, continuing to learn and making retirement savings last.

Representing nearly 38 million people, AARP strives to ensure Americans aged 50 years and older have access to the care, information, and services they need to lead healthier lives with independence and dignity. Thus, AARP believes it’s time to Disrupt Aging—to reconceive the national conversation on what growing older means. Toward that, in an August 2017 supplemental issue sponsored by AARP, The Gerontologist put the scientific lens to Disrupt Aging via 12 peer-reviewed research papers examining how negative attitudes about aging affect health and quality of life.

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