Best advice from older people is ‘your health is your wealth’
A new survey marking Positive Ageing Week, which began on Monday and runs until Friday, shows eight in ten adults in Ireland believe they learn lots from older generations.
78 per cent believe the best advice comes from those with lots of life experience and 77 per cent say people get wiser with age according to the survey by Hidden Hearing. Those under 35 are slightly more sceptical, with one in three of the younger cohort claiming older people are ‘out of touch’ so can’t give good advice.
Advice on family matters is most sought from older people, by over eight in ten, while personal relationships and happiness and personal fulfilment are viewed as areas in which older people are well placed to offer advice.
The statement that a listening ear is the best solution to problems was supported by 78 per cent, and 65 per cent believe older people tend to be better listeners.
Parents are cited as the main source of good advice, while six in ten would trust an older friend or family member most.
Advice
On the subject of what advice has had a big impact, advice around finances was cited most. Financial wisdom included saving for a rainy day, to budget carefully, and to remember that money isn’t everything.
Seven in ten adults claim that ‘your health is your wealth’ had the biggest impact on them.
To be yourself and believe in yourself, to live in the moment and always trust your gut and to prioritise your health and happiness were among the sage advice most frequently given.
Impactful advice came in the main from parents, four in ten nationally said, rising to one in two amongst those under 35 relying on parental advice.
76 per cent of people in Ireland believe that if they could speak with their younger self, they would have good advice to offer.
‘Be true to yourself and do what you want, not what you think others want’, was the top sentiment respondents would have had their younger selves believe.
The fact that older people have so much to offer is celebrated in Positive Ageing Week, and the survey was designed to acknowledge that, Dolores Madden, Audiologist and Marketing Director at Hidden Hearing said.
“Conversation, engaging with people, listening and learning are all core life experiences that rely on the ability to hear clearly. We lose out on a lot, if we don’t make a point of looking after our hearing,” the audiologist added.