12/08/2025
Did you know that AARP has featured our very own Darla Gale?!? Here is a small section of the article. Click the link below to read the full write-up "Why We Need to Feel Like We Matter."
Take time for positive self-talk. Build new neural pathways — road maps in the brain — for an extra boost of self-assuredness.
“If you tell yourself ‘I don’t matter,’ that is a negative belief,” says Darla Gale, a marriage and family therapist and founder of Darla Gale Counseling in Loomis, California. And if you keep reinforcing that statement, “your go-to is going to be ‘I don’t matter.’ ”
Instead, repeat statements to yourself, such as, “I am important,” “I have value” and “I have wisdom.”
Take stock of your contributions. Gale recommends keeping in mind that a lifetime of wins and losses can be used for the greater good — and that matters.
“Older adults forget they hold a wealth of knowledge and experience with them … and one of the most important roles they play is passing down that knowledge and wisdom to younger generations through storytelling and sharing experiences,” she says.
Read the full article:
Having a clear role in your community is the key to your well-being and happiness
