The number of people reaching the retirement age of 65 has grown from about seven and a half million in the 1930’s to 34 million today. While it is a given that everyone is getting older, there is a movement underway to change the way society perceives and deals with aging.

Feeling a bit old these days? It may not be your age slowing you down. It may be your attitude. “People experience age differently,” says Becca Levy, Associate Professor, division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health in Connecticut. Levy has spent years researching how age stereotypes affect a person’s physical and mental health and she says, “How someone views aging can often influence how they react physically.”

“Studies have shown that, when tested, people who are exposed to positive age stereotypes will walk faster, have better memories, and show a lower cardio vascular response to stress than those exposed to negative stereotypes,” says Levy.

Levy says that China seems to have the most positive views on aging. They honor their elders whose years have earned them a place of honor. They are considered wise and important, their opinions prophetic rather than outdated.

Unfortunately, Levy says that cross cultural research shows Americans as having some of the worst views on aging and the elderly. Basically, American people don’t want to get old – they just don’t see the value in it.

If you see retirement as sitting on the front porch in a rocker, than that is just what it will be... but not for Bob Persak of Homer Glen.

Persak retired at age 60 from a fast paced, travel heavy, job. The thought of lounging all day in a rocker didn’t sit well with him.

“I wanted to stay active,” says Persak. “So I made a list of all the new things I wanted to learn how to do.” Persak’s list included horseback riding, skiing and scuba diving. He has since learned all three. And now, at 68, He owns his own horse, skis both cross country and downhill, and has received certification to scuba dive in quarries.

Persak also stays active by playing with his 15 grandchildren and volunteering as a Big Brother to a teenaged boy. “I do all sorts of things with them, bike ride, roller skate... I get down on their level and do what they do. They keep me young.”

Persak says that he had no visions of what it was going to be like to grow old. “Both of my parents died in their early 50’s. My grandparents died when they were in their early 60’s. I never really saw them get old. And, because they died so young - when I retired, I felt that if I was still in good health, I should make good use of it.”

Doris Puntney of Plainfield started running when she turned 66. She is still running at 76.

“I never gave age a lot of thought,” says Puntney. “If I want to do something, I just do it.” Puntney has been doing a lot. She has an indoor pool and swims half an hour each day. She flip-flops 45-minute aerobic workouts, five days a week, between the Avery YMCA in Plainfield and Bally Total Fitness.

Puntney loves to stay active and can’t understand why most of her friends don’t. Last summer, she hiked for seven hours in the Grand Canyon to help raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and she regularly volunteers for the Joliet Area community Hospice Guild. She also cross country and down hill skis, though she admits it has been a couple of years since she has had the chance to go down hill. “But, I’ll get back to it,” she says without hesitation.

The only thing Puntney thinks she is too old for is snowboarding. “I think I’m too old... but, boy that sure looks like it would be fun.”

You Are What You Preceive

While not everyone will be healthy enough to ski at 78, many are healthier than they think. Both Persak and Puntney keep their minds as active as their bodies. They both like to read – mostly non-fiction and how-to-books. Persak has set out to learn Spanish so he can communicate with some of the workers at the barn where he boards his horse, Doc. He says there is always something new to learn. Putney does a crossword puzzle every day to exercise her mind and keep it sharp. They are both wise enough to know that growing older doesn’t have to mean growing old.

The key, says Levy, is to realize that you have the power to change your views on aging and the power to reinvent who you will become now and in your golden years. Just remember to follow your passions and interests, just as you did when you were younger. They will lead you to purpose. And, those that live with purpose tend to live longer, happier lives.