How to Live Well in Later Life
Ageing gets a bad press, portrayed as being downhill all the way. Ageism is rife but even more toxic for our mental health is the internalised ageism, where we swallow all the negative stories about getting older. Contrary to expectations, happiness goes up after fifty rather than down and there are other gains of age like wisdom, emotional regulation and multiple forms of intelligence.
So what can we do to make our later years happier and healthier? There is a science to ageing well which demonstrates that how we think and feel about our ageing process can have a significant influence on how we experience later life. A sense of meaning and purpose is crucial but becomes more challenging as we 
move out of the workplace. Building a social network is important as isolation and loneliness have a detrimental impact on wellbeing and can even shorten life itself.
We offer coaching and coaching in Positive Ageing that focus on the emotional and psychological aspects of ageing well, grounded in the science of positive psychology.
Want to know more? Please email Miriam to find out more and book a brief chat to find out what we can offer to equip you to navigate this stage in life.
Positive Ageing Weekend Retreat: Friday 20 to Sunday 22 June 2025, Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking, GL6 7QW
The Positive Ageing retreat explores the psychology of ageing well and introduces you to the practices that can help you develop mature happiness.
Negative beliefs about age are common but the good news is that they can be resisted and reversed. With a positive mindset we are much more likely to make the most of what later life has to offer us.
The retreat will show you how to use positive psychology to age well and sow the seeds of a happy and meaningful later life. You’ll discover your strengths, learn how to build your wellbeing and reflect on your source of meaning in later life. For some people that might mean an ‘encore career’ – using your strengths in a way that gives life a fresh meaning. Just as we had to learn how to grow up, we also need to learn how to grow old. And it’s never too early to start ageing positively!
What we cover:
- What is Positive Ageing
- Attitudes to Ageing and Busting the Myths about Later Life
- Meaning and Purpose in Later Life: What’s important to you?
- Strengths – what are the assets that age and experience has brought you?
- Encore Careers
- Mature Happiness and Later Life Wellbeing
- Life Review and Planning
Places are both residential or non‑residential with some early‑bird discounts available. For prices and booking details visit the Hawkwood page. If you are interested in the Positive Ageing retreat, let’s have a chat. Please email Miriam to fix a time.
Book a Positive Ageing workshop for your company or community
Explore the psychological and emotional aspects of later life in half-day and full-day workshops. Suitable for anyone over fifty. In a typical one-day course you can expect to :-
- Explore attitudes to ageing and the research on ageing well.
- Learn about the benefits of later life.
- Reflect on your expectations and ideas for the future.
- Develop a positive mindset to deal with the challenges of age.
- Write a plan for this next phase of life.
An example of one of the Positive Ageing training programmes we have delivered is PART – Positive Ageing & Resilience Training. This was part of an initiative, in collaboration with the Gulbenkian Foundation to help people strengthen their resilience to manage the transition to later life.
“I feel like I’ve learnt some helpful hints to take forward. It’s been very affirming.” “I am very glad I came – wasn’t at all sure I was wanting to think about ageing at all.”
On completion of a workshop you will have:-
Gained a better understanding of ageing – the realities and benefits- Explored your deeper thoughts and feelings about later life
- Learned a range of practical and well-evidenced techniques to improve your choices and wellbeing for later life.
“I thought the exercises were really useful and well structured.” “I liked the balance between input and experiential work.” “Really useful to look at what was for me a daunting subject in a stimulating and exciting way. Lots of food for further thought, which is also great.” “Thanks for the opportunity to raise the issues and start the journey of delving into common areas.”
We offer one-to-one coaching support alongside training to help realise the potential of the senior years.
The Positive Ageing courses were originally developed by Miriam Akhtar and Gu
y Robertson. We partnered with the Centre for Ageing Better and the Gulbenkian Foundation on the Transitions in Later Life initiative. The Positive Ageing & Resilience Training was developed specifically for this project. Read the evaluation.
Since penning The Ten Steps of Positive Ageing Guy has handed over the reins to Miriam, who also has expertise in the psychology of the menopause and has consulted on a variety of Positive Ageing initiatives with the Daily Telegraph, Ryvita and Dove.
Check out the blog for articles including Embracing Mental Ageing 5 ways in which life gets better as we get older.
