Make the most of the rest of your life: when it comes to aging gracefully, you're in control.

"There is a big difference between getting older and growing old," declares former president Jimmy Carter: He discovered that truth by observing his mother; Miss Lillian.

When her husband died in 1953, Lillian Carter was only 55. "For a few weeks she played the expected role of a grieving widow," writes son Jimmy in his book The Virtues of Aging, "but then decided that there was more to life than staying at home and enjoying a passive existence. She continued to age for 30 more years but never grew old."

Adopting a completely new life, Miss Lillian worked first as a house-mother to 95 "wild" Kappa Alpha fraternity students at Auburn University. "For six years she was their protector, confidante, loan and bail officer, and personal counselor. For most of them, she was a more intimate and understanding friend than their parents."

Next, working with some friends, Miss Lillian agreed to open and manage their new nursing home in Blakely, Georgia. After a few years she told her family she was tired of "being with old folks" and returned to Plains, Georgia, and soon spotted a television advertisement for Peace Corps volunteers. The ad set no age limit.

Thus, at 68 years of age, she completed her training for the Peace Corps and was assigned to a small town near Bombay, India, where she served for two years.

Upon completion of her duty, she returned to the United States and made more than 500 speeches describing her experiences, encouraging her audiences not to let old age be a limit on their fives. "At the age of 85 she was still full of life, never failing to wake up in the morning with determination to make the new day an adventure," Mr. Carter recalls.

Miss Lillian provides an inspiring and positive image of how people can move into "retirement" years to live creatively, engage in new activities, produce fresh accomplishments, and maintain a zest for living. Senior years can be an exciting adventure or boring monotony. They can be a time that's infinitely rewarding or psychologically paralyzing.

Here are seven proven tips for aging gracefully and making the most of the rest of your life:

1. VIEW AGING POSITIVELY. Your image of retirement and your senior years can be positive or negative. Negatively, you can view yourself as "over the hill," "out of the loop," "out to pasture," etc. Be wary of those negative labels, because they can become self-fulfilling prophecies. Continually remind yourself it's better to be 75 years young than 40 years old. No matter what transpires in your life, identify and act on the positive.

Consider the example of Ralph, a 72-year-old, whose vision problems made it difficult for him to continue driving. He voluntarily surrendered his driver's license.

Initially, this brought him sadness and depression. However, looking at his situation optimistically, Ralph realized that he was saving a lot of money by not paying auto insurance, car repairs, and a monthly car payment. Those additional funds allowed him to use readily available public transportation as well as taxi service.

Consequently, Ralph was able to continue all of his activities. The lesson: challenge your thinking if you find yourself feeling negative about aging and believing your life is filled with more losses than opportunities.

2. LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME. Minister and author Norman Vincent Peale lived to be nearly 100. He advised: "View each day as precious. Live it to the full. Skip any idea that you're 'running out of time.' Take every day and its abundance of opportunity and make the most of it. You'll be surprised at what you can do."

3. LIVE WITH GRATITUDE. For his book entitled Elder Wisdom, author Eugene C. Bianchi interviewed more than 100 older people over a two-year period. Their ages ranged from the mid-60s to centenarians, with an average age of 77. One of the common factors of those who were thriving in their senior years was their ability to live with gratitude. Bianchi reports: "They are able to receive the small and large gifts along the way as blessings that evoke thankfulness ... In these lives there have been disappointments, failures, losses--even tragedies. These elders do not deny the pain and hardship of the negative events, but they seem to be able to learn from them or at least to accept them as they turn back toward life."

Bianchi cites one man, in his 90s, who candidly admits that his wife's frail health makes this "the most difficult period of my life." The woman has been a shut-in for several years, and he is always on call to oversee her care. Yet, he expresses gladness at having the very gift of an already long life. "I'm swimming in a sea of gratitude," he says.

4. HELP OTHERS. Doing this takes the focus off yourself, your problems, your issues, and plunges you into a new arena. There you'll establish a new routine, create new relationships, remain actively involved in the community, learn new skills, and bring added meaning to your life. "Helping others can be surprisingly easy, since there is much that needs to be done," write Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter in their book Everything to Gain. "The hard part comes in choosing what to do and getting started; making the first effort at something different. Once the initiative is taken we often find that we can do things we never thought we could."

5. MAINTAIN YOUR HEALTH. The aging process can bring about some health problems, but many of these can be eliminated or reduced by paying careful attention to several important factors. Be certain to eat nutritious, balanced meals. If you're overweight, find a way to lose pounds. And be sure to exercise regularly. It's impossible to overstress the importance of physical exercise.

Tufts University researcher Miriam Nelson says that the "secret" to aging well may be as simple as doing a few basic exercises such as strength training to build muscle mass. She says muscles play a critical role in the aging process. "We don't value our muscles. People don't understand that as we grow older, starting in our 30s, most of us lose about one-third to a pound of muscle every year." That muscle loss impacts everything from body shape to mental health. "What happens when we have that kind of shift in our body composition is that it puts us at a greater risk for osteoporosis and drops our metabolism so weight gain is much easier," says Nelson, who is a nationally renowned expert on the effects of strength training on aging. "What we've found is that when you're physically strong, you're emotionally strong and ready to take on life's challenges. There are so many factors we can control. You can control the loss of muscle and gain in body fat. You can control your metabolism. You can control your fitness and how you feel about yourself," Nelson adds.

6. PLACE YOUR TRUST IN GOD. The Bible reminds us that God can be trusted throughout the totality of our lives. Place your trust in God and in God's goodness. When discouraged, offer the prayer of the psalmist: "Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone" (Psalm 71:9). Claim the promise of Isaiah 46:4: "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

7. DON'T" SAY "YES" TO LONELINESS. That advice comes from minister and author Norman Vincent Peale. He writes: "A lot of people do that as their friends die. They make no attempt to replace them with new friends. They never volunteer for activities that would bring them into contact with people. They seem to grow more isolated as the years go by."

Peale then reminds people that one's life does not have to be characterized by loneliness. "Loneliness is primarily a state of mind, and the curious, eager, interested mind seldom has time for boredom or room for self-pity. One of the surest antidotes for loneliness is to look around for someone who has troubles and try to help them."

Aging gracefully is possible. But it doesn't happen automatically. The process must begin right now and then continue for the rest of our lives.

Victor M. Parachin, an ordained minister and frequent contributor to Vibrant Life, ages gracefully in Tulsa, Oklahoma.