Article 10

I found this article to be pretty interesting. What I found most interesting is that according to Dr. Vaillant just having a more positive outlook on life can really make a difference on how successfully you age. The article really made me think about it and it definitely does make a lot of sense. When your able to look at things in a more positive outlook it leaves less room for stress, anger, loneliness, etc. Another finding that I found to be quite interesting is that good genes do not always account for better aging. I'm really glad that this study showed that because it’s kind of comforting knowing that we can have a say in how good we age or even how long we can live. Obviously there are just some things in life we can not control, but if genes don’t always account for how we age then it’s nice to know that our life decisions and actions can help us age better. I find the "seven keys to aging well" to be somewhat obvious. We all know that non smokers have a better chance of living longer then smokers and excising more can make keep us healthier. But what surprises me is that Americans know these things and yet still choose to live lifestyles that go against these "seven factors". After reading this article it really made me take into account how I look at life and how I deal with the stressors in my life. There are definitely times when I do look at the glass half empty and this article really brought that to my attention. It also made me look at how I look at my past experiences. I need to make sure I can pick out the positive memories and experiences and focus on them and not the negative ones. I really liked the last quote that Vaillant made, "worry less about cholesterol and more about gratitude and forgiveness". I think that’s one thing that our society has forgotten to do. We don't also appreciate the things we have and we definitely know how to hold grudges. I truly believe that by doing those two things we can live much happier lives. Being able to appreciate everything that we have and be able to forgive people for things can only make us better people and make us more content will our lives. This article has really made me stop and think about how I look at life and how I should look at the “bumps in the road”. If it means aging better and living a happier longer life it’s worth it to me. Not only will doing the things that Vaillant states will help us age successfully but I believe it will make people live a truly better life; a more complete life.