Centenarians have positive attitudes about life. They also enjoy their life after work.

A long life and successful retirement takes courage, commitment, and desire. You can have an elaborate retirement plan but if you don’t have the conviction to follow it, your plan is nothing more than words on a page. Change is a natural part of retirement. This involves changing routines, making new friends, trying new activities, and taking on new responsibilities.

For some people, retirement is so overwhelming they consciously or subconsciously sabotage their retirement plan, and living longer, by adopting a negative attitude. They accept the feeling that ‘its all over’, that the changes required are too hard and they are likely to fail. They look back at their life remembering the ‘good old days’ rather than welcoming the adventures that lie ahead. As a result of their negativism, they allow their health to deteriorate and lose their zest for life. They let negative emotions rule their actions and accept the retirement that just shows up. In doing so, they become the victim and use past events to make excuses.

People with positive attitudes trust their abilities, are willing to take risks and believe in themselves. They look forward rather than backward, and they relish the future with a spirit of adventure. They choose the right behaviour and the right thoughts to get the right consequences. They create the retirement, and life, they want!

So how do you create a positive attitude? The first step is to accept reality – your career is being you. Don’t dwell in the past; don’t lament the things you didn’t accomplish. Don’t criticize yourself for the actions you didn’t take. In other words, don’t sweat what you didn’t do.

Creating a positive attitude means committing to yourself, getting involved in something worthwhile and continuing to grow in knowledge, skill, and understanding. It is viewing yourself as successful and having positive expectations for everything you do. The more positive images, questions, implicit beliefs and self-talk you engage in, the more positive your mind-set. If you catch yourself drifting into a negative mind-set, stop and refocus on the positive.

A positive attitude comes from surrounding yourself with positive people and having the will to keep trying until you get what you want. It’s putting yourself at risk as you leave behind the comfortable and familiar to move onwards and upwards.

People with positive attitudes see the humour in situations and can laugh at themselves. They believe with conviction that they deserve love and success. They open their heart and trust their ability to create a happy retirement and life.

Pairing a well-formulated retirement vision with a positive attitude puts you well on your way to creating a rewarding retirement lifestyle. You are on the right track to actively molding your future, including increasing your longevity.