How much younger would you like to be?

Wouldn't it be great if you could just wave a magic wand and strip years off your life? Like layers on an onion, what would you like to peel off? 5 Years? 10 Years? Or may be more.

I've just dug out some social research statistics on this subject. They are a little old - they date from 2002 - but they give an early guide to how people see rejuvenation.

The first thing to notice is that about a third of people, do not want to change their age at all. These people are happy with where they are in their lives and do not yearn for a younger self. And 5% would like to be somewhat older than they are currently - but virtually all of these are found in the 15-24 year old age band of respondents.

The rest of us - some 60% - want to be younger! But how much younger is the younger you? 5 years younger will do 9% of us. Almost a quarter 24% want to be 10 years younger. But 27% want to roll back a full 20 years!!

Looking at the detail, it is unsurprising, perhaps, to see that the older you are, the more you yearn for a bigger rejuvenation - most people wishing for 20 years more youth were 45+.

Interestingly professional and self-employed people are the occupations wishing for the biggest swish of the rejuvenation wand. Why would this be? My hypothesis is that this is a reflection of how much they have sacrificed for their careers and how poorly they have lived their leisure lives. Are you one of these people? A lost youth spent studying and lost life spent climbing the career ladder may bring great frustration concerning ageing.

The other social groups yearning for youthfulness are the divorced, the separated and the widowed. So here, rolling back the clock is probably about regrets and the desire to have the time to make a fresh start.

So there you have it. The majority of people want to rejuventate - but their motivations for doing so are mixed - getting older is the most powerful reason to wish to be younger. But regrets about a wasted life and the desire to start again are also powerful reasons to rejuvenate.

Blowing open the assumptions about ageing

Are you one of those people who believe that ageing brings new wisdom and a better perspective on life? What if you have it upside down? Could it be that life was simpler when you were younger because you were better at living it?

Lots of social research points to the fact that the young have an approach to life which is more positive and leads to more fulfillment. For example, the young are simply more sociable. As people get older, they withdraw and fall back on a smaller and smaller circle of friends. And going out in crowds becomes terrifying - rather than exciting.

As for the wisdom of age, perhaps FP Jones was on to something when he said:

"Experience is that marvellous thing that enables you to recognise a mistake when you make it again".

So perhaps it's time to start challenging some of the common assumptions about ageing. Here are three truisms about the ageing process which go against the average view:

1. Ageing is more about how you think than how you look (so forget about botox and start looking at mindset change)

2. Wisdom is not only something you learn. You were born with a natural wisdom - the Wisdom of Youth (so work hard to regain what you've lost with the passage of time and don't think life is going to get easier, just because you are older)

3. People drift into 'old' thinking (grumpy and negative) as early as their early 20s (avoid become old before your time by rejuvenating your thoughts and acquiring a 'Young Brain').

It's been said that 'ageing' is the obsession of our times. If that's so, better start with the right assumption base.

Job restructuring? Good

Friends came to lunch yesterday. Our conversation must have been a carbon copy of thousands of other lunchtime chats being held at dining tables around the world. Our subject, of course, the recession. More precisely, the fact that the husband had been given an ultimatum recently.

You see, after 20 years in the same company, working at the same site, for the same management, his workplace was closing. All the company's affairs were transfering to another factory, 300kms away. His choice? Stay and be made redundant - or follow and be promoted. So he's following.

But here's the thing. Two months into his new job, he's been revitalised. New management and new responsibilities sees this 52 year old alive with new ideas and plans. I'd already noticed when he walked in the house how much younger he looked - and I told him this. He denied it, of course, saying he felt more tired than usual. That's normal. He's started a new job and is, for the moment, doing a lot of weekly commuting to and from this new site. But he did look younger, somehow fresher and more vigorous!

And, later, he said it himself. According to his own impressions, "I feel ten years younger!"

Now, his wife is out of kilter with this rejuvenation. She's going to have to give up her beloved home and foresake her good job to follow him in the Autumn. The relocalisation fills her with dread. Where will they live? Will they find new friends? Will they lose old friends? Will they be able to rent their existing home for a few years - and find reliable tenants? And so on.

Whilst the husband has already moved on, his wife is still stuck in the past. He is working on his Young Brain. She is limiting herself by her Old Brain.

The good news is, and I told them this, that I have no doubt that once they are both in situ, their lives will both be transformed for the better. Truth is, here they were stagnating and both jobs were tolerated - not enjoyed. Friendships were comfortable, not lively. I've a strong feeling that in 18 months when we go down to visit for the weekend, they will be rejuventated, buzzing with ideas and living life with renewed fascination.

So, if your job is restructuring, if you have to relocate, if you lose your job - even in these straightened times, try to think of it as a formidable chance to turn over a new leaf and start something fresh. Your Young Brain will be nourished and the rewards could be great.