This month seems focused on aging and aging well, or is it living and enjoying life longer?
The fact remains that there are now more and more people living up to hundred and above, and as a consequence, scientists are interested in finding out what all those centenarians have in common.
As mentioned in this other great article from Greater Good, “100 is the new 65”, a growing number of researches are suggesting that
- Longevity isn’t just linked to good genes and a healthy lifestyle but it’s also tied to cultivating a positive, resilient attitude toward life.
- Though every centenarian is unique—they vary widely in terms of education, socioeconomic status, religion, and ethnicity, as a group, they exhibit a distinct constellation of personality traits. For instance, they tend to display relatively high levels of what psychologists label “competence”—the ability to achieve goals—and “conscientiousness,” or self-discipline.
- Avoiding anxious or neurotic behavior may not only help us increase our lifespans but better enjoy those extra years.
Which means that more than ever, we can learn from our elders, not only how to live a longer life but also a better one, as they seem to have excellent stress and negative emotions combatting strategies, or said in another way, if we improve the quality of our strategies to cope with stress and negative emotions we are bound to live longer, by quite a few years …. 😉 apparently.