Watch Your Language

I caught myself using the phrase "Senior Moments" the other day.  My husband and I were joking about something I had misplaced, and probably lost.  But it made me stop. It felt like I was giving myself permission to assume that aging equals addled.  That's an assumption that I don't want to make, nor does it serve me.

This is from a wonderful article on how the words we choose influence our reality:

"Words can lift us up, or they can beat us down. The words we choose convey and influence our thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. There's a lot of research that shows that the terms and concepts people use both reflect and affect attitudes. If you call someone old and senile, for example, it can affect both their perception of themselves and the way others perceive them."

I started to do more reading on the topic. Which made me far more aware of how negative words and phrases had crept into my every day conversation.  Here are a few of mine that I have since eliminated:

Declining years
Long in the tooth
Old as the hills
Old fogy
Older than dirt
One foot in the grave
Twilight years
Winter of life

In his declining years 

I'm no longer enjoying those greeting cards that represented older people as fools.  I don't find them funny.  While I know it's important not to take yourself too seriously, every choice has a consequence.  I'm choosing my words and humor more thoughtfully now.

What words and phrases could you eliminate from your vocabulary to encourage a better vision of aging?  It's your choice!