How to Live Well in Later Life
Ageing gets a bad press, portrayed as being downhill all the way. However, contrary to expectations, happiness goes up after fifty rather than down and there are other gains of age like wisdom, emotional mastery and multiple forms of intelligence.
Ageism is rife in modern society but even more toxic for our mental health is the internalised ageism, where we believe all the negative stories about getting older. So what can we do to make our later years happier and healthier? Research shows that how we feel about our ageing process can have a significant influence on how we experience later life.
We offer coaching, consultancy and workshops in Positive Ageing, based on positive psychology, to equip you to navigate this stage in life with a focus on the emotional and psychological aspects of ageing well.
Positive Ageing Retreat: How to Live Well in Later Life, Friday 20 to Sunday 22 June 2025, Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking, GL6 7QW
Just as we had to learn how to grow up, we also need to learn how to grow old. The Positive Ageing retreat explores the psychology of ageing well and the practices that lead to mature happiness.
The good news is that negative age beliefs can be resisted and reversed and 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 make the most of life’s third act 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 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. It’s never too early to start ageing positively!
What we cover:
- What is Positive Ageing
- Busting the Myths about Later Life
- Attitudes to Ageing
- Meaning in Later Life
- Explore your Strengths
- Encore Careers
- Mature Happiness
- Later Life Wellbeing Practices
- Life Review
- Planning for Later Life
Places are residential or non-residential with some early bird discounts. Book early to secure your place via this link.
Book a Positive Ageing workshop for your organisation
Please get in touch if you’re interested in hosting a Positive Ageing retreat for your organisation or retreat centre. Workshops can be booked as a half-day or full-day course. In collaboration with the Gulbenkian Foundations we developed PART – Positive Ageing & Resilience Training to help people strengthen their resilience to manage the transition to later life.
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.
“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:-
- 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 to help people develop greater resilience for later life. 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 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.Happiness Habits for Later Life in The Daily Telegraph.
