Personal meaning and successful aging.

Personal meaning is defined as an individually constructed cognitive system that is grounded in subjective values and capable of endowing life with personal significance and satisfaction. Theories and empirical findings are presented that implicate the importance of personal meaning in promoting health and successful aging. When many of the major sources of meaning, such as work, social status, and activity are threatened or diminished, as in the case of advancing age, the question Why Survive? becomes urgent. Ones health and life satisfaction importantly depends on whether this existential need is met. The main thesis of the present paper is that discovery /creation of meaning through inner and spiritual resources is a promising way of transcending personal losses and despair in old age. This paper also describes four strategies, namely reminiscence, commitment, personal optimism and relig-iosity, which may be used to maintain a sense of meaning in the face of illness, pain and personal death. Successful aging has emerged as a rapidly growing area of gerontological research (Birren