Paulette Senior, 48

For me Age Esteem means feeling good about myself no matter what age I am.

A concern that I have about aging is to have someone there with me, having company.

Paulette’s tips:  Keep moving.  Keep physical and keep working on inner self.  Always find a way to be thankful.  Just be thankful for your life, for living and getting up every day and for having a purpose.

Paulette Senior is CEO of the YWCA of Canada.

Age Esteemers speak to themselves and others with words to encourage.  They grow confidence, skills and knowledge in others as part of their legacy.  They recognize their role as mentors and support and encourage others of all ages.  They share their own expertise and experience of living with openness and love.  They are eager to encourage as they help others to develop their qualities.

• Catch someone doing something new, challenging or difficult and support and encourage them.
• Revise and devise your vocabulary to give others a boost in confidence and to help them recognize what they do well.
• Look on encouragement as an opportunity to reach out to others as a mentor and guide.  You, too, will learn in the process.

Bonnie Fatio

Age Esteemers take responsibility for their own happiness.  They know that no one else can make you happy.  Riches cannot make you happy.  You are responsible for your happiness.

There is a lovely saying, « If you want to be happy, just be happy! »  It is as easy as that.  Happiness depends on you.  If you want to be happy, decide to be happy.  Curl up the corners of your mouth.  Put a smile on your face and look up.  It will change your whole perspective.

• Practice smiling.  Smile at yourself in the mirror.  Smile at people you meet.  Smile just for the pleasure of smiling, and see what happens.
• Smile when you wake up in the morning, even before you open your eyes; and make it the last thing you do at night before you drift off to sleep.
• Look for the happiness around you; look for the humor in the day.

Bonnie Fatio

People with age esteem recognize that they have choices, that they are masters of their own life.  They may not be able to control what happens to them all of the time or even most of the time, but they take control over how they act or react to what happens.

Age esteemers know they can choose to see what happens as an opportunity or as a catastrophe.  They can choose to be a victim, or they can choose to take action to move beyond the problem, to learn from it and benefit from it.

• Decide that you will become a can do, will do person who takes control.
• Look for the opportunity inside a difficulty.
• Remind yourself that you are in control.

Bonnie Fatio

Do you have an attitude of gratitude?

People with Age Esteem express gratitude.  Age Esteemers know the importance of not only feeling thankful, but also expressing appreciation and gratitude for what they have and what others do for them.  They choose to recognize the blessings of each day, no matter how great or small.

• Keep a gratitude diary where you record the highlights of each day for which you are grateful.
• Count your blessings when things seem difficult.  Remind yourself of all the good that surrounds you while you deal with a problem.
• Express openly to others your gratitude for what they mean to you.

Bonnie Fatio

People with age esteem have a positive attitude.  Studies show that people who enjoy life with a positive attitude live longer and happier lives.  This is not to say that they don’t have aches and pains like anyone else.  They simple choose to take a different view of life.  Rather than focus on their pains, they chose to concentrate on what goes well and to develop their interests.  They are engaged in living.

Age Esteemers know that when we focus on the brighter side of life, we draw other positive people and opportunities to us.

• Become aware of your thoughts and words.  Are they positive or negative.?
• Turn negatives into positives.  When you catch yourself complaining or discouraging yourself, change your phrase to make it positive and encouraging.
• Surround yourself with positive people.  Drop those who hold you back or put you down.  They don’t deserve your time.

Bonnie Fatio

Carolyn Flowers, 58

When I hear the word Age Esteem what comes to mind is age that doesn’t feel like age.  Although you’re aged, you still have some of that youth in you.

My own concern with aging is to think that somebody will have to take care of me.  I don’t want anybody to ever have to take care of me.
Carolyn’s Tips:  Stay busy:  always learning, always looking for ways to make improvements.  Giving of myself.  I think if you give of yourself you feel good about yourself and when you feel good about yourself you’ll age more gracefully.  I think that whether you’re young or whether you’re old you should always know what your passion is.  You can’t go wrong if you are doing what you’re passionate about.  It’ll keep you young.

Carolyn Flowers is regional manager of the YWCA’s of Southeast U.S.

Sunflowers are majestic.  They shine like a reflection of the sun.  And like people with age esteem, they become models for others.  They are looked up to as something of beauty and wonder.  They share many lessons with us.

• Keep your face to the sun.
• Stand tall.
• Share your pollen (wisdom, talents, skills)
• Continue to grow throughout life (learn and stretch your thinking).
• Shine forth with your inner beauty.

Bonnie Fatio

It always puts a smile on my face to see fields of sunflowers in bloom.  They have such a generous attitude.  The sunflower not only shares its beauty as it lifts its face to the sun as though laughing with joy.  – It also provides a landing field for all kinds of airborne insects from bumble bee to butter fly who in turn spread the flower’s pollen.

This is easily understood by people with age esteem.  Age-esteemers also have an attitude of generosity.

• They focus their thoughts on the sunshine, the positive.
• They shine with inner beauty.
• They share their joy of living, and
• They spread their pollen of wisdom.

Bonnie Fatio

The sunflower is a wonderful teacher.  Even before it opens into all of its splendor, it teaches us that

• Beauty is not something that simply splashes out a people.
• It is something that must be developed.
• True beauty grows out of developing and maturing.
• It is based on experience and learning as much as colorful pedals.
• Before we can shine on the outside, we need to create a glow on the inside.

Age esteem is also like the sunflower.  It grows out of  that glow on the inside.

Bonnie Fatio