Authors such as Sadler & Krefft (2007) use principles of growth and renewal to describe the third age years. This is not a form of denial but rather a focus on how we can continue to hold youthful characteristics as we age. These characteristics include curiosity, spontaneity, imagination, laughter, and playfulness. Rather than falling into a pattern of decline, there is a call for renewal, rebirth, regeneration, revitalization, and rejuvenation.

Leider and Webber (2013) introduce the idea that during the third age people need to learn to unload some of the baggage they have been carrying and begin a process of repacking. The baggage they are talking about includes material goods, stereotypes of aging, unproductive communication patterns, and debilitating views of the self.

Cusack and Thompson (2003) draw attention to the need for mental fitness as part of the aging process. This mental fitness includes ongoing stimulation, learning, problem solving, and creating. This is not a time to shut down mental capacity, but rather a time to make mental adjustments and to keep learning. Staying mentally active is an important part of third age living.