America has an aging population, and many of our most successful individuals are middle-aged or older. Yet, there seems to be evidence of widespread ageism. Sometimes it can be seen in a seemingly benign birthday card depicting age as something to laugh at or feel bad about, but other times it takes the form of workplace discrimination. Even if we do live in an ageist society, it’s good to have a positive view of aging.
One area where ageism is apparent is in the workforce. According to the Department of Labor, older adults are less likely to be hired in an economic downturn. You may know of someone in their 50s or 60s who was passed over for a promotion, laid off, or is having trouble finding a job despite having a wealth of experience. This discrimination stems from the false idea that once someone hits a certain age, he or she is automatically in mental and physical decline.
People who maintain a positive attitude towards aging tend to fair differently than those who believe that aging has made them undesirable or irrelevant. Studies show that people with positive views on aging take better care of themselves, recover from setbacks faster, do better on memory tests, and even live up to 7.5 years longer. It’s all about resisting the urge to put limitations on your abilities based on age.
America’s population is aging, and we can’t afford to have one in every five people seeing themselves as inferior just because of their age. Older workers have a wealth of experience to share with younger workers, and older family members have memories to share with younger ones. With so many things to love about retirement, why would you not look forward to aging?
When you think about it, there’s nothing stopping you from changing how you view aging, especially when research suggests that people become happier as they age. Developing a good attitude towards getting older is an important part of finding happiness in retirement. At [sc name=”company_name”], we care about retirees and want you to look forward to your golden years. We offer complimentary financial reviews so that we can meet you and help you prepare for the next phase of your life – [sc name=”comp_review”] to sign up.
