Belmont Village Quarterly Newsletter
on Senior Living

Happy New Year from Belmont Village!

With the coming of each new year, we traditionally send each other our sincerest wishes for happiness and well-being.  We hope for the best with this fresh opportunity, but is there anything we can actually do to help ensure happy, positive feelings and experiences?  At Belmont Village, we think so.  That’s why our research-based programs are specifically designed to enable each resident to live his or her life to the fullest. 

Belmont’s Learning Coordinators plan regular activities and outings for residents that provide social interaction and stimulation, including opportunities to volunteer and to perform service projects that benefit local schools and the larger community.  In our experience, staying connected and engaged with the world and continuing to learn and develop new skills are important keys to resident satisfaction. 

Recent studies conducted by University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin E. P. Seligman and others confirm the benefits of this approach.  Seligman, author of the new book, Authentic Happiness, is the architect of the “positive psychology” movement.  Counter to the traditional focus of psychology, the movement seeks to study what makes people happy, rather than focusing on the causes of negative emotions such as sadness or anger. 

While work in this field is still in the early stages, Seligman and his colleagues believe they are seeing some trends among happy people.  Below are some of the findings from their studies:

• Socialization:  The happiest people spend the least time alone; they actively seek the company of others and surround themselves with friends and family.
• Non-Materialism:  Happy people tend not to care about getting and spending, and they don’t measure themselves against what others do or have.
• Fulfilling Activities:  Becoming completely absorbed in an activity that causes you to lose track of time, forget about yourself, and stop worrying is also a key to true happiness and satisfaction.
• Signature Strengths:  According to Seligman, we all have them.  The happiest among us use them.
• Gratitude and Forgiveness:  New studies indicate that talking and writing about what you’re thankful for can increase happiness.  And forgiveness is the trait most strongly linked to happiness.

All Belmont Village programs and amenities are designed to foster an atmosphere of friendship and to give residents an opportunity to interact.  In addition to the regularly planned activities and projects, residents socialize with neighbors at meal times in Josephine’s Kitchen, our signature restaurant-style dining area; they participate in exercise classes or exercise with friends in our professionally supervised onsite fitness center; and each Belmont Village community has a variety of inviting parlors and common areas where residents routinely gather to visit.

To learn more about Belmont Village and our programs, please click here. 

Article Sources:  USA Today; Times Online