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**Business Book Awards 2024 Finalist**
Congratulations!
You have been given about 20 more years to live than your grandparents. But does that just mean a longer decline?
Berit Lewis shows that the story we so often tell ourselves about ageing – that it’s all downhill from 50 – is simply wrong. In fact, research reveals we are at our happiest aged 80! Combining her extensive experience in teaching mindfulness with her knowledge of how to live and age well, she reveals a simple framework that can help you make the most out of those extra years of living. Rather than wait for society to solve the challenges of longevity, she invites us to explore what each of us can do to take responsibility for our own life and ageing process.
Ageing Upwards will help you navigate life after 50 with acceptance, self-compassion and mental flexibility. It’s also invaluable to leaders who wants overcome unconscious beliefs, limitations and discriminations related to age to create more diverse organizations.
...possibly the only mindfulness book you need. I really liked the author's writing style, which is spare, professional, clearly laid out and well researched. There is a easy framework to follow (easy to understand, not so easy to practice!) and a very good website linked to the book which includes further information and some very good meditations. The book is aimed at older adults, but I think it would be very useful for anyone interested in mindfulness related to ageing. NetGalley
I just turned 51 and I secretly harboured a helplessness - feeling out of control, that I had so much stuff to do and not enough time. Then I saw this book. The revelation that I’m likely to be happiest at 80 - together with tips on proper mindfulness, Berit’s own experiences...has given me a renewed zeal and zest for the remainder of my life. Brilliant. Amazon
This mind-expanding shift may be exactly what we need to level up our lives after the age of 50. Instead of accepting the popular rhetoric that decline is all we have to look forward to, we can enrich our lives and ourselves by being intentional and practicing acceptance and self-compassion. A wonderfully eye-opening read. This book will appeal to lovers of self-help and psychology. GoodReads
Great insight and inspiration to help navigate life with acceptance, mental flexibility and self compassion. Highly recommended read. LinkedIn
This book is all about dispelling the stereotypes that society has imposed on us regarding the notion of age and aging...Take some time to read this book...If you think that working long hours early in life so you can save sleeping and resting until retirement is what life is all about, take a look at what this book has to say to you. Perhaps a better balance in our lives now is what should be happening to avoid the burnout that eventually will come; sooner than you think if your mind-set is set in the past. NetGalley
This book re-frames ageing by applying Mindfulness techniques. It gave me an appreciation that ageing should be seen not as an issue, but as a different opportunity... Lewis provides a set of tools to re-train the mind to explore what each of us can do to take responsibility for our own life and ageing process. NetGalley
Berit Lewis is an experienced speaker and mindfulness teacher with degrees in Psychology, Communication, and Vitality and Ageing. After a career as a communication and PR specialist in Denmark and Australia – including 10 years at the Danish Defence – she founded Thriving Life, offering workshops, courses and retreats in mental well-being.
PROLOGUE
PREFACE: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS BOOK
AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY OF AGEING FROM WITHIN
MINDFULNESS .
HOW TO READ THE BOOK
INTRODUCTION
THE PARADOX OF AGEING
AGEING IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR LIVING
FACING THE MANY ISMS
PREPARING FOR THE -YEAR LIFE
AGEING AS A DANCE
I AM NOT YOUNG NOR OLD – I AM HERE
PART ; FROM STRIVING TO THRIVING
CHAPTER : AGEING; FROM A STATE OF BEING TO A PROCESS OF ADAPTATION
WHY DO WE AGE?
SUCCESSFUL AGEING – ONLY FOR THE ELITE OR LUCKY FEW?
MINDFULNESS CAN HELP US ADAPT
CHAPTER : FROM AVOIDANCE TO FLOW - AN INTRODUCTION TO THE A FRAMEWORK
NEW LIFE TO AN OLD KITCHEN KNIFE
NOTICE IT, KNOW IT, FLOW WITH IT!
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE – INVESTING IN A THRIVING (AGEING) LIFE
PART : NOTICE IT
CHAPTER ATTENTION – INVESTING YOUR MENTAL CURRENCY WISELY
PAY ATTENTION!
A WANDERING & NEGATIVE MIND KEEPS US SAFE
LET´S BE PATIENT REBELS!
SAVOURING THE PLEASANT
ATTENTION TRAINING
START PRACTICING
CHAPTER THE INTERPLAY OF ATTENTION AND AWARENESS
FROM MURKY TO CLEAR WATERS
A CERTAIN KIND OF ATTENTION
A NATURAL RESISTANCE
START PRACTICING
PART : KNOW IT
CHAPTER : AWARENESS OF WHAT DRIVES OUR THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS
OUR HUMAN BRAINS ARE CREATED TO MISLEAD US.
AWARENESS OF SELF-CREATED HABITS
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SUFFERING
START PRACTICING
CHAPTER : AWARENESS OF MYSELF
DO I HAVE A SELF AND IF SO, CAN I CHANGE IT?
CAN WE CHANGE OURSELVES INTO HAPPIER INDIVIDUALS?
PERSONALITY TRAITS AND WELLBEING
HOW TO GROW OLDER INSTEAD OF MERELY GETTING OLDER.
START PRACTICING
CHAPTER : AWARENESS OF MY PURPOSE AND MEANING
CONNECTING TO THE LIFE FORCE WITHIN
REPLACING AGEING WITH VITALITY
KNOWING OUR VALUES
THE BIG QUESTIONS
START PRACTICING
PART : FLOW WITH IT!
CHAPTER ATTITUDE – CHANGING PERSPECTIVE
THE WAY WE THINK MATTERS
STRESS AS AN EXAMPLE
RE-FRAMING AGEING
TURNING OLD ANTS INTO NEW PETS
START PRACTICING
CHAPTER AFFECTION – FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS
WE ARE SOCIAL BEINGS
CHOOSING BETWEEN THE FORCES WITHIN US
EXPANDING MY TRIBE
AFFECTION FOR OTHERS
AFFECTION FOR SELF
START PRACTICING
CHAPTER ACCOMMODATION; DROPPING THE BATTLES
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ACCOMMODATING?
STOP THE STRIVING AND YOU WILL ACHIEVE
OUR INTELLIGENCE WILL NOT SAVE US FROM SUFFERING
ACCEPTING THE IMPERMANENCE OF LIFE
BEING A BIGGER CONTAINER
ACCOMMODATING PAIN, ILLNESS AND DEATH
START PRACTICING
CHAPTER : ADAPTATION
STRATEGIES FOR ADAPTATION
SELECTION – MAKING MINDFUL CHOICES AND SETTING GOALS
Wise selections start with pauses
Flexible goal selection and attainment
OPTIMISATION – HOW CAN I IMPROVE THE ODDS OF ACHIEVING MY GOALS IN THE GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES?
The importance of having a sense of agency
COMPENSATION – ACCEPTING THAT I CANNOT DO WHAT I WANT TO
Finding Compensation in the present moment
EPILOGUE
END NOTES