In order to learn how to change your attitude towards aging, we need to work on two things. You need to develop firstly a healthy mind, and then secondly work on keeping your body healthy.

The Healthy Mind

Believe it or not, when you find yourself turning 50, you won’t suddenly need to run and get yourself a walker or some adult diapers.

There are so many amazing men and women who are better off in their 50’s health wise than they were in their 30’s.

Take people like Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere, and Jane Fonda just to name a few! Do any of them seem like targets for walkers, hearing aid commercials or adult diapers? No, definitely not.

Age isn’t a number anymore, and we are way cooler than our parents ever were at our age.

We know how to dress better, look after ourselves and have more information on how to stay healthy for longer, so getting ‘old’ is no longer an excuse.

We are living longer, working later and not only do we look younger than our parents did, but we feel younger too. In fact, now more of us are going to live to be 100 or more.

We now reserve the title of ‘senior citizen’ to people in their late 70s and beyond, as our perception of who is old is changing as we get older.

Aging is more a matter of fact that is going to happen whether you are ready or not. When you are positive about the changes coming your way, you are going to experience a happier and healthier aging experience.

It’s all about the choices you make when it comes to nutrition, exercise, and mindset which can play a major role in how healthily you age.

There is no reason to tell yourself that your memory is failing simply because you have hit 50. If you do then there is a good chance that you will talk yourself into aging earlier than necessary.

The Healthy Body

Keeping your body healthy is a major contributor to how you age, so this means eating well and exercising.

Let us look at the four main factors that contribute to aging namely:

• Stress
• Glycation
• Inflammation
• Oxidative Damage

When combined, these four factors damage your DNA, your cells and organs, bodily functions, and systems, and can even contribute to brain shrinkage.

You might feel overwhelmed by the thought of overcoming these factors, however, with stress management, a healthy diet, regular exercise, building healthy relationships, and a positive attitude you can overcome this to extend your life and live healthier for longer.

Now, let’s look at some key habits that will support your pursuit of how to change your attitude to aging.

Stress

Stress is one of those elements that is damaging to your body long term. Stress leads to excess levels of cortisol which can damage blood vessels, affect your heart rate, shrink your brain, raise your blood pressure and your blood sugar levels.

Stress can also fuel chronic inflammation which is also on the list above.

Stress management is vital to your long-term health and happiness. There are many ways to reduce your stress levels by practicing self-care, taking up new hobbies, meditation, praying or even learning how to breathe properly.

Sleep is also an important factor in stress management, so it’s vital that you get at least seven hours on a nightly basis.

You can read more about controlling your stress levels here.

Glycation

Glycation happens when excess sugar is present in your body. Excess sugar attaches itself to fat molecules and proteins which lead to glycation and this can end up damaging every system of the body.

The best way to fight glycation is to avoid excess sugar, limit fried food and simple carbs.

Inflammation

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to protect against attacks.

However, long-term inflammation is another story. It’s a silent killer operating under the radar to damage the walls of blood vessels and it is a major factor in most degenerative diseases.

You can combat them by eating plenty of foods good for fighting inflammation, such as leafy greens, seeds, garlic, nuts, onions, and beans.

Oxidative Stress

Your cells are literally rusting in your body, causing them to age from within. Oxidative stress plays a role in cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and dementia.

Oxidative stress is caused by free radicals, so it is vital that you eat a healthy diet that is rich in antioxidants.

You can do this by going organic where possible. Choose the freshest fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.

How To Change Your Attitude To Aging

Start Thinking Agelessly

Because we are living longer, we are living healthier.

It is believed that we have the mind power to control our cells and genes, rather than letting them control us.

The perceptions that we hold about aging can physically influence our body’s decision to repair or replace our damaged cells.

Our thought patterns can communicate with the rest of our body, and that can trigger reprogramming, whether negatively or positively.

This isn’t of course research that everyone buys into, and there is still a lot of research happening at the moment, but so far results have favored the above possibilities.

However, it has been proven that both yoga and meditation are huge keys in unlocking a better mental attitude and your attitude toward aging.

Ageless Spirit

Apart from working on your health in the ways mentioned above, a big part of how to change your attitude is working on your ageless spirit.

Spirituality doesn’t have to be related to religion as we all have our own ways that we feed our spirits.

For you, it may be visiting a church once a week, for someone else, it may be a long hike on a beautiful day.

What we do know is that it’s important to feed our spirits, no matter how we choose to do so. If you don’t have a lot of time on your hands I can see that this one may sound overwhelming – but, it doesn’t take much time to stargaze or enjoy some time outdoors in a beautiful garden.

Using nature is one of the greatest ways to feed your spirit because we’re all part of this planet and we realize that we are just a small part of the big picture.

Choose Your Aging Terms Wisely

When we speak of aging, we are normally using this term as a way of describing our decline and the deterioration of both body and mind. While getting older is inevitable, how we age is entirely in our own hands.

So pay attention to how you speak and the words that you use when you talk about aging, as that can make a big difference to your mental attitude.

Next time you talk about the aging process, talk about it in a more positive light and start to look at the positive side of aging, as there are many positive sides.

Be Positive

If you blame your age for every ache and pain or every time you get sick your body will start to believe you.

We often joke about dreading milestone ages like 30 and beyond. On the face of it we are joking, but deep down there is part of us that truly believes life is over at these milestone ages.

Age-Proof Yourself

The physical effects of aging can start at any time and they do so based on your lifestyle choices.

If you drink a bottle of wine every night while smoking a pack of cigarettes you are going to age more quickly than someone who doesn’t smoke and only drinks alcohol in moderation.

It’s harder to maintain an ageless attitude when your face and body don’t feel the same way. Part of maintaining an ageless attitude lies in looking after yourself and not overdoing it.

Grow Younger Instead

Okay, no one is saying to start counting backward and lie about your age, but if your want to know how to change your attitude, you would do well to ignore your numerical age and consider it just as big a celebration as you did when you turned 8, 13, 16, and 21.

We’ve started to dread birthdays rather than seeing them as something to acknowledge. Look at every birthday that you celebrate as another successful year of living this life, your life.

Who cares how old you are chronological? Be that person who everyone looks at and wonders how old you are. Part of being ageless is living life to the max and making sure that you live every day to its fullest.

You don’t have to do certain things because you’ve reached a particular age. You can do whatever you want – but what you’re truly focused on is making the most of every second life gives you.

Don’t Feel Guilty To Find Pleasure For Yourself

As you go through life the pressures and responsibilities have build up. These include looking after children, elderly parents, budgeting and other chores.

The pursuit of pleasure sometimes falls away during these times.

Do you feel pleasure seems selfish and that you are too grown up to have fun?

Instead, you take on more and more and end up giving more of yourself away.

Remember that you never have to apologize for doing things that you enjoy. If you don’t take time for pleasure, life will drain you and you are not doing yourself any favors if you allow this to happen.

Part of how to change your attitude to aging is to accept happiness. Remember that you deserve self-care, whether it is eating out with a friend or a nice long bubble bath.

Part of how to change your attitude is making decisions that are based on what you know you want while remaining open to new things. You can choose what you like, regardless of the judgment you may get from others. Remember, you have nothing to prove.

Let Go Of The Past

When you continually bury your feelings and emotions, it only adds to your burden. Anger also weighs you down.

You need to find the strength to forgive, smile at those who annoy you and let go of feelings that are holding you back.

New Discoveries

Something that children do is explore, and it is something that we lose over time.

Don’t lose out on the joy of new discoveries and work on ways on how to change your attitude and mindset here. Embrace movement and find out what your body can still do.

You may find you can still ride a horse or go for a swim in the lake.

How to change your attitude is going to mean embracing movement and doing things that you still can and enjoy, without worrying about what others think.

Be Your Best Self

Getting older is all about feeling free enough to be whoever you are.

What that means for you may be different from what it means for someone else.

For you, it could be ditching makeup and letting your hair gray naturally. For someone else, it could be choosing that brightly colored pair of pants in the department store. There is freedom in shaking off concerns about what others think. In fact, it is very liberating.

Declutter Your Life

If you are allowing lots of stuff/clutter to build up in your home, it will make it more difficult to feel organized and manage your happiness.

Declutter and feel how much better you feel. It is very liberating to live simply without too much stuff around you.

Get Out And Meet New People

Keep your mind young by mixing with people. It is important to stay social and enjoy being in the company of others as you age.

Try joining a bridge club, a dance club or an art club. Not only will you learn some new skills which are good for your mental health, but you might meet some more wonderful people to add to your life.

Never lose your curiosity and enjoy learning new skills – this is what life is all about and is key on how to change your attitude towards aging.

One of the ageless attitude’s hallmarks is a passionate mindset driven by curiosity.

Final Thoughts

So now I am sure you can see why your body is being made older by your attitude and your lifestyle choices. Your age may be higher than your actual age or much lower, based on the habits and decisions that you make or have made in the past.

Remember that it’s incredibly difficult to maintain your ageless attitude when your body and mind are battling against you trying to turn your thoughts down the road of negativity.

While it may sound like it’s a lot of work to stay on top of all of these things, in truth, it’s less effort than clawing your way back after failing to do these things.

When you truly look after yourself, everything tends to fall into place and it becomes second nature to practice good behaviors and make good choices.

Don’t worry if you haven’t been making the right decisions so far, you can make changes now to improve your overall health and get that ageless attitude you have been craving.  Just break one bad habit at a time and take it day by day. Start by keeping active. Make sure you don’t sit for too long, keep moving.

So take some time to sit down with a pen and paper and take stock of your life. Rather than beat yourself up, determine how to change your attitude and where you can make improvements to your life.

The truth on how to change your attitude to aging is that it doesn’t matter how old you are, your mind is your only limitation.

You can do anything you set your mind to, you just need to go out there and grab it.