Advice on Living Well from Elders

24 Jan Advice on Living Well from Elders

Perhaps instead of ignoring our elders or pushing them into a corner (or worse, nursing homes), we should put them on soapboxes. Found this article by Nico Pitney in the Huffington Post offering wisdom from our elders enlightening, often surprising and very relevant. For example: worry less.

Karl Pillemer has spent the last several years systematically interviewing hundreds of older Americans to collect their lessons for living.

Pillemer admits he’s an advice junkie. He’s also a Ph.D. gerontologist at Cornell University.

Some years ago, after turning 50, he wondered whether there is something about getting older that teaches you how to live better. “Could we look at the oldest Americans as experts on how to live our lives?” he asked. “And could we tap that wisdom to help us make the most of our lifetimes?”

His first book, “30 Lessons for Living,” synthesized advice from over 1,000 elders on topics like happiness, work, and health.

Now Pillemer has followed up with “30 Lessons for Loving,” which features practical wisdom from over 700 older Americans with 25,000 collective years of marriage experience. One couple he profiles was married for 76 years. Another interviewee describes divorcing her husband, then remarrying him 64 years later.

I spoke with Pillemer for Sophia, a HuffPost project to collect life lessons from accomplished people (that was partly inspired by his work).

Pillemer shared seven key pieces of advice he’s heard repeatedly from older Americans — about their greatest regrets, finding fulfillment, and keeping relationships healthy through life’s ups-and-downs.

1. Stop worrying so much.

I asked these oldest Americans what they think people tend to regret at their age, and what they would advise younger people to do to avoid regret…

C0ntinue reading here.

And watch this video for more amazing insights.