When you are nearing age 50 as a single parent and your children are older teenagers and almost out of the house, you start wondering what life will be like after they've flown the nest and you are all alone. You wonder what you will do when you don't have your children to take care of day in and day out and a boss to answer to during the work week. Many people start thinking negative thoughts about what their future holds, mostly due to health concerns and other living arrangements that will at some point need to be considered, such as retirement homes.

However, recently there's been a change in the outlook and mindset of those in the baby boomer generation and those who follow after them. It's called mindful aging. There's even a book about it. Here's a snippet of what mindful aging is and how to achieve the best results for your future as a single person nearing retirement. 

What Is Mindful Aging? 

Mindful aging is a way of recognizing that, yes, there are negative challenges that are faced when getting older, but there are also positive things to focus on as well. You do still need to be mindful of the negatives, but the key thing here is to add more weight to the positives so the negatives don't become all-encompassing over your life. Instead of thinking, "I'm too old to do ___," think instead, "What new adventures await?" In order to take this approach to life effectively, it's a good idea to get counseling from people like Andrea Brandt Therapy in addition to reading books on the matter. 

Why Is Counseling Important? 

Counseling is a way to make amends with yourself and fix situations that may subconsciously prevent you from mindful aging. Counseling can also help you to discover the best things about you that you otherwise wouldn't realize and, perhaps, wouldn't consider valuable attributes that may be necessary in your future. For example, as a single parent, you may think of yourself as always struggling to make ends meet or to provide emotional support for your children. But those aspects of your life have given you strength and they show that you have what it takes to remain positive during difficult times, which essentially is what is needed when taking on the lifestyle of mindful aging, especially as a mature, single person. Positivity gets results, negativity does not.