Growing old is not just a matter of the body; it is also a matter of the mind, a matter of attitudes. Expect to live long, desire to stay young, and your chances of doing both will increase. It has been said that a person starts growing old the day he begins to worry about it.

Think Young and Think Happy

This obviously rules out rocking away your last years of life on the front porch, oblivious to what is going on in the world. Keep up-to-date. Do not limit your association to friends your own age, with whom discussions may tend to get bogged down in the latest obituary columns. Associate with young people, too. Listen to what they have to say. Learn about their problems. They will appreciate your interest and you will gain their respect. Besides, some of their youthful enthusiasm, cheerfulness and optimism is bound to rub off.

The unpleasant aspects of old age will not be improved by a disposition that has forgotten how to smile. Find joy in small things. Experience the same delight you felt when as a little child you watched a kitten chase its tail. Let your face light up with the same glow it had when, as a young person, you were surprised with a gift.

Replace thoughts about “dying with dignity” with the more positive ones of “living with a purpose.” Remember, a happy and contented spirit can go far in reactivating an unhappy and discontented body. In the seas of life “cheerfulness,” as a 100-year-old expressed it, “is our life preserver.”

Keep Physically Active

Physical activity engaged in regularly, although in moderation, is essential. This strengthens the heart and lungs, keeps you trim and prevents muscles from sagging. Whatever your preference (some type of sport or simply taking long walks), you will be aided in staying physically active.c

Exercise is particularly important if you have reached retirement age. Retirement should not mean inactivity. Keep busy, working at something that interests you. Do not slow down any more than is reasonable and necessary. Be like the man who, when told he should start slowing down, replied, with a tinge of defiance in his voice: “No way. As long as I can keep on moving, they’ll never be able to bury me!”

Keep Mentally Active

Even as the body deteriorates when not used, so also does the mind. Enrich your life by increasing your knowledge. Learn things you had no time or opportunity to learn earlier​—a handicraft, a foreign language or how to play a musical instrument. Did you know, for example, that almost two million Americans over the age of 55 have returned to school, many of them now studying at colleges and universities?

In fact, a university solely for students of retirement age was opened in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1975. The initial enrollment of 600 students had climbed to over 2,000 by 1979. A German scientific magazine commenting on this said that university officials had found that, “contrary to the popular notion that old people are unable to learn, it had been established that in general their receptiveness and powers of learning were quite normal.”

Watch Eating and Drinking Habits

Studies of the Ecuadorian village of Vilcabamba, one of three regions in the world known for the longevity of its inhabitants, reveal that the people there eat sparingly. They subsist on a low-calorie diet rich in complex carbohydrates, such as those found in fruits, vegetables and grains, but low in sugars and fats. To supplement nutritive needs, many persons find vitamins helpful. Research seems to indicate that vitamin E is especially effective in slowing down the aging process.

Unlike smoking, which is detrimental to health even when done in moderation, alcoholic beverages are generally harmful only when indulged in to excess. As regards drinking, one would do well to heed the appropriate and logical advice once offered by a young African, who said: “Remember, if you drink less, you will live longer. And if you live longer, you will be able to drink more.”

Remain as Independent as Possible

Do not let younger people, even if well meaning, set you back to the days of childhood by being overly protective and condescending in their dealings with you. If you can still live alone, do so. If you can still care for your home, do so. If you can still do your own cooking, do so. If you can still mow your own lawn and wash your own car, do so.

If, on the other hand, you have become feeble in either body or mind and need help, accept help when offered, doing so graciously and with gratitude. Let people help you according to need, not according to age. In this way you will maintain self-respect and will have no reason to feel guilty about unduly imposing upon others.

Do Not live in the Past

Treasured memories are fine, but keeping too many physical ties with the past, like old letters and pictures, or spending too much time reminiscing, can make you despondent. Rather than living in the past, try to come to grips with the present, while at the same time making plans for the future. Decide what you would like to do tomorrow or next week, and daily you will have something for which to live.

Memories from the past can be transplanted into the present. For example, instead of being like the widow who says: “I haven’t done any baking since Charlie died,” surprise neighbors or friends by baking them a cake. Tell them: “I thought you might like it. Charlie always did. In fact, chocolate cake was his favorite.” By making others happy, you will make yourself happy. Suddenly, that treasured memory has taken on new dimensions.

Accept the Obvious

Make allowances for the fact that you are not as young as you used to be. But, then, who is? Do not feel you must keep up with others half your age. There is no reason to “prove” you are still young when it is quite obvious that you are not. Grow older gracefully, with no apologies.

Never cease being grateful for the opportunity you have had to grow old. Millions of young persons, whose lives have been snuffed out prematurely, never had that chance. Do not be like the young man who, when getting up in the morning, complains that he must; be like the old man who rejoices that he still can.

Long Life and Satisfying Work

A WORLD-RENOWNED symphony conductor signed a five-year contract with a major record company to make four recordings a year. That may not sound unusual. But the conductor, Leopold Stokowski, was 95 at the time and the contract would have kept him busy at his demanding job until 100! He died in his 96th year.

That is not an isolated instance. The concert stage seems to be particularly crowded with octogenarians and nonagenarians. Pianist Artur Rubinstein is now 95, violinist Jascha Heifetz is 80, and guitarist Andres Segovia is 88, to name just a few of the most famous. Among musicians of the past, Arturo Toscanini, the paragon of conductors, remained active to age 90, Arthur Fiedler led the famed Boston Pops orchestra until he died only last year at 85, and Spanish cellist Pablo Casals remained the director of the Casals Festival until age 96.

In compiling a list of 35 deceased conductors, Dr. Donald H. Atlas, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California at San Diego, noted that their average age was 73.4 years. In comparison, the average life span of American men, according to Dr. Atlas, is 68.5 years. The doctor commented that “since I have not been able to find a single death in this group at an age younger than 58, I firmly believe that these men were protected by some undetermined factors from the modern scourge of early fatal ischemic vascular disease.”

Perhaps shedding some light on those “undetermined factors” were the findings published by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in a 1973 report entitled “Work in America.” The report suggested work satisfaction and general happiness as two leading contributors to longevity.

Some 3,000 years ago, wise King Solomon observed: “I have seen that there is nothing better than that the man should rejoice in his works [enjoy his work, The New English Bible], for that is his portion.” (Eccl. 3:22) Contrary to popular opinion that “taking it easy” may be the secret of long life, the foregoing studies and examples seem to indicate that meaningful and satisfying work can contribute to longevity. Dr. Atlas added: “I hope that the apparently fulfilling life pattern of conductors will show us how to add life to years as well as years to life.”