The aim of the article is to show antecedents of well-being of elderly pepole, correlates of quality of life: the notion of happiness and life satisfaction within Polish realities. The work shows two major approach- es in how elderliness is perceived by social sciences, positive and negative way, and presents its sources and consequences. The article concentrates on factors influencing well-being of elderly people and its meaning, proved by various researches and within different cultures. It also gives us a sense of direction and it shows activ- ities which are necessary to improve the quality of life and well-being of seniors, that is critical in order to bring changes for the hurtful stereotypes and to put elderliness within the category of a task, not the category of problem. Various studies were conducted, that prove notion of staying active and useful, especially within social circle, that can be a key approach to create positive changes on how every person experiences elderliness.