It’s hard to maintain a positive outlook when it feels like the walls are caving in around you, and it can feel like that is happening as you enter into older adulthood and begin to lose your health and even some of the people that you love. It may seem like an impossible time for Boston seniors to remain positive, but according to a recent study, simply thinking positive can improve overall happiness, since what we do with our brains can have an impact on happiness by up to 40%. Despite how hard it may be, seniors can make an effort to be positive in older adulthood with these 5 steps:

1. Make the time – even spending only a half an hour a day thinking about kindness and compassion can improve your overall level of happiness

2. Use verbal affirmations everyday – a verbal affirmation is simply voicing a positive thought or statement out loud. Seniors who are feeling lonely can say “I have a family who loves me and that I love more than everyone”, or that “better health will come my way”. Thinking about these things positively rather than negatively can help make them come true or change your feelings about them in any case!

3. Use positive language – just using positive words can make us happier, whether or not we actually believe them

4. Create positive images – surround yourself with positive images, of pictures of family and friends, post inspirational messages around your home or other images that keep you thinking positively

5. Be thankful – focus on being thankful for the things that you have; saying it out loud 50 times a day can make you feel grateful and it will help you start everyday out on the right foot

Sources:

1. Cognifit

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