It’s time to change misperceptions about our elders and the ageing process. It’s also time that we begin to own the problem and challenge it personally, with friends, family and in the workplace.

We tend to be unconscious of our own bias against older people, often thinking that the designation of “senior” or “older person” doesn’t refer to us but to “them”. In fact, most healthy people who are over 60 still consider themselves very much younger than their chronological age. The reflection in the mirror does not tell how we perceive our own ages.

Here are some ideas that will help build confidence and defy the notion of your “best before” date:

• Don’t shy away from questions about your age. Embrace it and let whoever is interested know the actual number of years you have been around. Be proud of getting to this point in your life and avoid feeling less than adequate.
• Change the question about age from “how old are you” to “what is your age”?
• Interact frequently with children, youth and adults of other generations, including those older than you.
• Move outside your comfort zone and feel the exhilaration of a new experience.
• Role-model how satisfying this stage of life can be by talking about the many exciting opportunities you now have.
• Foster awareness of ageing with young children so that they don’t fear it themselves. When children as young as 4 are asked if they want to grow old, they tend to reply negatively.
• Invite longevity awareness in schools.
• Redefine your life course by engaging rather than being enraged.
• Take a later in life “Gap” Year or return to university or college to take other courses.
• Be stylish.
• Try out new and different hair styles.
• When you forget something, don’t refer to it as a “senior” moment. This just reinforces the misperception that older folks are more forgetful than younger people. Our brains are plastic but like hard drives in computers, they sometimes reach capacity.