Optimism helps you to live longer and changes your perception of ageing right into your 80s and 90s.
At least that's what the research says. The reason I looked into it was that I was in Auckland over the weekend and visited my Aunty Roma. She has swung into her nineties, barely slowing down. We spent the afternoon in Karaka, chatting while the birds flew over the estuary, and I came away feeling emotional.
Every time Roma laughed, I saw my Dad; she is now the last one left in the family of that generation. You end up chortling for much of a visit with Roma; it’s always been like that, and it hasn’t lessened with age. And like anyone in their nineties, a conversation comes with the richness of reflection.
She asked me, “Have you had a good life?” What a question and how to answer. You see, my first instinct was to say, “I’m still in it, it hasn't finished yet,” but I don’t know that. I have reached an age where anything can happen, and with heritable early-onset dementia in my genes, I shouldn’t take life for granted.
After thinking about the question, I answered, "Yes, I have had a good life, but there is still more I want to do.” She looked at me and said, "You'd better get on with it then, because before you know it, you can’t do the things you want to anymore.”
Aunty Roma taught in South Auckland schools into her eighties; a broken femur took her out of the classroom. Her optimism is contagious, as is her ability to laugh (often at herself). I still remember her telling me the story of when she was travelling with her siblings in Europe by bus and how, when she was in the toilet, and the bus braked hard, she found herself flung out, trousers around her ankles, realising (too late) that she hadn’t locked the door properly!
Optimism is in your genes, and some people can pull themselves out of a funk faster than others. It’s interesting that optimism shapes both how well you age and how long you live. And I am left wondering, how can you be more optimistic in life? When I think and write about healthy ageing, I tend to focus on the physical, the tangible and measurable. But by doing that, I miss something so fundamental to your health - your state of mind.
Roma's optimism is something she was born with and something she's practised for over ninety years. I'd love to know, how do you practise optimism? And how do you find your optimism when it goes missing?