Aging reflects the relationship of time on our being. Aging describes, in large part, the state of our body. Old, on the other hand, describes our state of mind. It has always been a matter of great interest to me to discover the spiritual and attitudinal aquifer that supplies the fountain of youth.

There is no denying the effects of time on our bodies. Although we can slow certain physical impacts, we cannot prevent them altogether. Hair turns gray or falls out. Skin wrinkles. Senses like hearing and sight can begin to dull—as can short-term memory function. As George Burns once quipped: “You know you’re getting older when everything hurts, and what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work.”

Release the rudder for a single day and you can sense a sort of existential seasickness. Release it for a week, and you will drift aimlessly or be tossed on the rocks. Release the rudder for any longer period and shipwreck is inevitable. This is a truth I have witnessed time and again on the retirement landscape.

So, in observing the forever young, forever passionate, and forever engaged, I have come across five internal focuses and patterns that constitute what I refer to as the attitude instrument—that which steers our lives safely through the existential seas day-by-day of fulfilled and pleasurable living. These focuses I call the Vitamin Cs of successful aging. They are:

Vitamin C1—Connectivity
Vitamin C2—Challenge
Vitamin C3—Curiosity
Vitamin C4—Creativity
Vitamin C5—Charity
Vitamin C1—Connectivity

A study conducted at the University of Michigan found that in retirement, psychological well-being increases for some individuals and decreases for others. The researchers analyzed variables of physical health, income level, traumatic life experiences in recent years, age, gender, and other factors that might affect the psychological well-being of an individual. They found that the most powerful predictor of life satisfaction right after retirement were not health or wealth but the breadth of a person’s social network.

The researchers concluded that new retirees need a social network more than they did when they were working. They wrote, “Just having a number of people who provide emotional support, listen to your concerns, and let your know that you’re still valued right after you retire seems to make a big difference.”

Why do people retire and immediately move away to a place where they have no social connectivity? Not only are they disconnecting from a major lifeline in the science of successful aging, they might also find out they are annoyed with the accents and culture into which they moved. It might be wise to spend some time doing reconnaissance on the geography and culture you plan on staging the next act of your life. Many people disconnect themselves from important social networks when they retire and don’t realize it until it’s too late.

Stay connected to people you love, people you enjoy, and people that apprectiate you and see value in your presence. Longevity does not favor the Lone Ranger. Both long life and happiness are tied to the quality of your connections.

Vitamin C2—Challenge
The latest Alzheimer research demonstrates that being intellectually challenged and having predictable taxation on our mental acuity literally have the effect of a finger in the dike, holding back the degenerative processes leading to both Alzheimer’s and dementia. This research also concluded that as we hit our 50s and beyond, there is an exigency on ensuring that we have riddles to ponder, problems to solve, and things to fix. The brain is a muscle that atrophies without use. One gentleman told me that after six months of retirement, he could literally sense the dulling in his cerebral muscle with signs of slowed thinking and sluggish articulation.

“I decided to go back to college part-time when I reached age 62 and study psychology for no other reason than that I was curious about it. I’ve always wanted to get a better understanding of human behavior and I figured this was one step toward getting it. When I started classes, I was amazed at how many people were there in my age group. I guess I’m not the only curious grandma out there. I spent my career in business management. I got my fill of that. Now I feel like I’m in the middle of an electric storm. My mind is on full alert. I’m in awe of some of the things I’m learning. I have these intriguing conversations with younger people and just doing this makes me feel like I can go anywhere and do anything.” —Georgia, student, 62

The pulsating vein of life that Georgia has tapped into, along with a growing contingent of mature citizens, is that of growth. I hold little hope for the aging individuals who live with the delusion that they have “seen and heard it all.” Those who have curiosity racing through their brains are guaranteed an exciting existence. Curiosity fuels both optimism and hope. Lifetime learners have the attitude that their quality of life will rise with their application to learning. This older entrance into new realms of education is, and will continue to be, a growing trend with the end of retirement as we know it. More and more retirees are moving to university towns instead of retirement villages.

It is important to note here that a job of some sort may be the most important source for cognitive demands because it is a primary source of mental stimulation. John W. Rowe, M.D., and Robert L. Kahn, Ph.D., in their book Successful Aging, wrote: “Remember the old adage, ‘We become what we do’? People whose jobs promote self-direction, use of initiative, and independent judgement tend to boost their intellectual flexibility—that is, their ability to use a variety of approaches in order to solve mental problems.” In short, mental flexibility is as important as intellectual curiosity as we age, and being active in challenging work can nurture such mental elasticity. An old and changing stereotype of aging is the old man or woman who won’t listen to new ideas. Mental curiosity and flexibility are the answer to that old problem.

Vitamin C3—Curiosity
On a recent plane ride home from Australia, I flew next to a physicist named Ken Clark from the University of Washington. In his late 70s, he is still teaching and researching. I asked him why he wasn’t retired, as was expected of a man his age. His answer was, “There’s so much yet to learn,” and he enthusiastically began describing his latest upper atmospheric physics research project. When I saw the sparkle in Dr. Clark’s eyes as he spoke, I realized how good it would be if more seniors had their heads in the clouds of higher learning. Curiosity guarantees a pulse in the brain and a reason to keep our bodies healthy. The role of mental alertness cannot be overestimated and neither can the benefits of a desire to grow. Once a person reaches a point where they no longer want to learn or grow, it is time to order the tombstone. It need not be formal education that one pursues; it can be self-taught or experiential learning. The important thing is to have the curiosity and desire to grow. Age is an uphill road. Learning and tasks that demand mental alertness keep us in gear. Those individuals who stay neutral in this area will quickly find they are going backward. Rigorous mental function helps both to facilitate productivity in later years and to strengthen our need and desire to be active—factors that in turn affect our physical well-being.

Vitamin C4—Creativity
I’ve long been enthralled by elderly artists in their 80s and 90s who seem as keen and perspicacious as people half their age. I once listened to an interview with a Canadian artist in her 90s whose lucidity of thought and spry articulation was most inspiring. She also confirmed my suspicions about the virtues of creative engagement in our later years. She talked about the aforementioned curiosity being razor-sharp as well. She reasoned that artists have developed a discipline of observation that requires seeing what others, less curious, might miss. A creative soul looks at the shoreline and sees something new every day. This might help explain why B.B. King, now over 80, is playing 200 nights a year, and why Peter Drucker was able to write a business bestseller in his 90s. Of course, you don’t have to be renowned to be creative and to keep the powers of observation working. You just have to be curious, intrigued, expressive, and intentional. A couple of other gems I heard this elderly artist mention were regularly scheduled, intellectually stimulating luncheons with people younger than herself, a profoundly diminished sense of self-consciousness, and two ounces of Canadian rye whiskey each evening for good measure.

Vitamin C5—Charity
Studies continue to surface around the ameliorative effects of charitable living on quality and longevity of life. Those who think about helping others often talk about how such charitable preoccupations lessen the degenerative effects of stress associated with worrying. Even if we didn’t live a day longer because of charitable pursuits, we no doubt would live better.

I’m reminded of a story a financial advisor told about a client in her 70s who had more money than she could ever hope to spend but had no charitable interests. He challenged her to look around her city for places she might like to make a difference. As she began to observe and listen to her heart, a floodgate of generosity and empathy began to open up for her. Now, her life is full of causes she is passionate about—they have put a fresh spring in her step and added adrenaline to her pulse. It doesn’t require money to live charitably; it just takes concern, generosity, and self-transcendence.

Excerpted from The New Retirementality by Mitch Anthony. Copyright © 2006 by Mitch Anthony. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission Kaplan Publishing. $17.95. Available in local bookstores or call 800-621-9621