As a senior you have the opportunity to see the world with new eyes. Look at the great themes of life and you can have them or renew them. Love, creativity, immersion in nature, deep friendships, spirituality, sharing your knowledge and wisdom with others, continuing to offer your children and grandchildren guidance and understanding.
What are the ways to accomplish what you seek? Even if one idea resonates with you take it, absorb it and use it. Change is fragile but if believed it can be lasting and bring you a renewal of life itself.
There are many things you can do. Education, self-direction, exploring new avenues and joining groups that will help you find what you are looking for. If you have to choose one way to approach changing your life then use positive affirmations, a very simple but powerful method to enhance your ability to make your retirement vital and fulfilling. It is simply a way to change negative thoughts into positive ones, to experience a different life and give yourself new beliefs.
Affirmations have been used for centuries of years as a valuable form of positive thinking to foster optimism, constructive living and a more creative lifestyle. Norman Vincent Peale is perhaps the best known advocate for using affirmations as part of your daily living. More recently Deepak Chopra has spoken and written of their value to gain well-being.
Belief in your ability to succeed and eliminating negative thoughts and feelings are vital in your continuing path to successful aging. The ability to repeat various affirmations daily whenever the thought occurs to you helps maintain your positive framework. Many authors have left very meaningful sayings to inspire and spur people to lead positive lives. We are usually stimulated by such thoughts, whether from Shakespeare, Einstein, Yogi Berra, Warren Buffet or many others. Reading such affirmations can prove fruitful and meaningful. There are many books with thousands of popular and famous sayings. The Oxford Book of Quotations, The Macmillan Book of Proverbs, Distilled Wisdom and many others. And Google can be a mine of information for affirmations.
However, creating your own affirmations is not only fun but mentally stimulating and because they are your own creations they will have special meaning and greater impact on your life. It does not mean that you can not use others but your own will be especially gratifying and helpful.
The subjects are legion. Health, well-being, romance, sex, peace, love, creativity, overcoming illness, self-esteem, dieting, bonding, not judging, giving up envy and jealousy, trust, wisdom, understanding. etc.
And there are many ways of expressing an affirmation. A simple illustration is all that's needed to get started.
Let's take the subject of health. Health can mean many things. It means being free of illness, an ability to run a marathon, losing weight, eating healthfully and exercising faithfully.
An affirmation can be one or more of the following:
• I will always do everything possible to remain healthy.
• I will not overeat or eat unhealthy foods. I will stop eating junk food.
• I will always eat breakfast.
• I will walk for 30 minutes or 1 hour five times a week.
As you can see these affirmations merely point out in a few words things you want to do to remain healthy. Repeating them daily reinforces your resolve to remain healthy. Belief in your ability to change, reiterating the affirmation frequently during the day and implementing the changes expected will lead to a more positive, healthy and happier life.