The 7 Habits Applied to Aging in Place

By Patrick Roden RN, PhD

“Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent

will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The
power to choose, to respond, to change.”
-Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Covey’s seminal work on how to create a better human species titled “The 7
Habits of Highly Effective People” was first published in 1989 and has sold over
15 million copies in 38 languages since first its release.
The concepts are timeless and can be broadly applied as I have done here with aging
in place. What follows is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Aging in Place:

 Habit 1: Be Proactive
Synopsis: Take initiative in life by realizing your decisions (and how they align with
life's principles) are the primary determining factors for effectiveness in your life.
Taking responsibility for your choices and the subsequent consequences that follow.
Aging in Place: Be Proactive; day-in-and-day-out you are faced with “choice points”
that will have a cumulative effect on your independence. If you choose what’s easy
now (not take that walk and stay on the couch—or not install that light on the stairs
and put up with the dark steps); life will be hard later.
Many people wait until a crisis to begn the aging-in-place remodeling projects; and
crisis-driven interventions are seldom as effective as proactive ones.
Proactivity is being anticipatory and taking charge of situations; adaptivity is about
responding to change, proactivity is about initiating change.

 Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Synopsis: Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life
goals. Envisioning the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and
relationships in life.
Aging in Place: Begin With the End in Mind is making the future a part of your
current philosophy. According to the Aging in America study of several years ago,
seniors fear nursing homes over death; so for most, independence is a deeply held
value and goal.
Think seriously about how much you value the rituals and natural rhythms of your
simple daily living at home that you’ve cultivated over the years. Coffee in the
moring and reading the paper in your favorite chair perched in the front window;
after you let the cat out. Or shopping at the grocer where the clerk knows you by
first name—then imagine life without them.
Look around the house and determine what is going to potentially be a challenge in
the coming years. Do an aging-in-place assessment and make a priority list of
action items.
Is adding a bathroom on the first floor, installing a lift on the stairs, or an access
ramp, something I can do now that will keep me in my home 5-10 years from now?
Hosting family over for traditional life events; and being able to have grandkids stay
whenever you choose. Does being a grandparent mean having a home where
grandkids can find refuge and a place to stay?

 Habit 3: Put First Things First

Synopsis: Planning, prioritizing, and executing your week's tasks based on
importance rather than urgency. Evaluating if your efforts exemplify your desired
character values, propel you towards goals, and enrich the roles and relationships
elaborated in Habit 2.
Aging in Place: Prioritizing remodeling goals with budget in mind. What are the
“biggest-bang-for-the-buck” aging-in-place remodeling items?
Consult a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS);  Architect specializing in
Universal design; or Ocupational Therapist trained in aging-in-place design.

 Habit 4: Think Win-Win or No Deal

Synopsis: Genuinely striving for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in
your relationships. Valuing and respecting people by understanding a "win" for all is
ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had
gotten their way.
Aging in Place: Win-win means considering the concerns of spouces as well as adult
children. Staying in one’s home may not be the best solution for all parties.
Sometimes aging in place is not possible.

 Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

Synopsis: Using empathetic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which
compels them to reciprocate the listening, take an open mind to being influenced by
you, which creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.
Aging in Place: Listen to partner/spouse and understand their wants and needs for
aging-in-place remodeling; as well as to CAPS remodling professionals for
suggestions prior to making decisions.

  Habit 6: Synergize
Synopsis: Combining the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to
achieve goals no one person could have done alone. How to yield the most prolific
performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution,
and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.
Aging in Place: Synergize with other family members by sharing aging-in-place
goals; ask for feedback and imput; form a team-work approach with CAPS
professionals.
Make the community part of your aging in place team strategy; employ senior
services like meals-on-wheels; the local area agency on aging; AARP chapters;
churches; See Aging in Place HELP for more resources.

 Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Synopsis: The balancing and renewal of your resources, energy, and health to create
a sustainable long-term effective lifestyle.
Aging in Place: Keep up on new technologies for aging-in-place; visit web sites for
developments in universal design; and educate yourself about what’s available in
the aging in place market. Aging in Place Technology Watch will Keep you up on the
fast changing home telemetry sector.
Keep physically and mentally fit (your body and mind need to be available to you)
for successfully aging in place.
These 7 habits applied to aging-in-place can be a guide to independence and a more
rich-fuller expression of who you are in the years to come.
Now get started…

See:
Stephen Covey: Do the BIG ROCKS first
World's Leading Authority on Aging in Place
Interior Design With Your Future in Mind
NAICP
(photo mirror.co.uk)

For more information, visit http://www.aginginplace.com.