The way you think about aging may in fact play a role in how old you “allow” yourself to get. The majority of
centenarians—people who live to be 100 years old or older—report feeling about 20 years younger than their chronological age, and their mindset has a lot to do with this self-perception.
Most centenarians, regardless of their health status, tend to have positive attitudes, optimism, and a zest for life. Could it be that personality characteristics and worldviews play a more significant role than genetics, diet, or exercise? Perhaps!
One way to determine this is to ask centenarians questions about how they see the world, what they value, and to what they attribute their own longevity. What are their secrets to
aging well? These individuals represent centuries of wisdom that should not be overlooked.
Mining the minds of centenarians for nuggets of wisdom, researchers have been able to detect a definitive pattern of thinking and behavior among the eldest among us. Centenarians overwhelmingly cite stress as the most important thing to avoid.
Those who have lived 100 years or more on this earth have undoubtedly experienced a number of stressful events, but as a general rule, they
manage their stress really well. Rather than dwelling on it, they let it go. And most often, they
choose to be happy—despite everything. In interviews and surveys with centenarians, the following themes also come up time and time again when asked to explain “why they've lived so long:”
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