If you are not ready to contemplate retirement having reached a certain age you’ll find the book “Smashing the Age Barrier: The Ultimate Survival Guide to Success and Happiness” a useful point of reference and the road map you may have been looking for to help further your aims.It may not have all the answers for you personally, but it has an abundance of strategies and resources to think about and act on. The author, clearly himself not ready to retire to the golf course, sets out to blow away the great myth about advancing years.If you do not wish to you do not have to retreat from life, change your lifestyle, slow down,and live out the rest of your life in slow motion. The purpose of his book is to provide a step by step guide to achieving your purpose,aims and ambitions in life, regardless of your age. Continue reading “The great myth of advancing years”
Apparently, we in Britain are some of the most inactive people in the world. One third of us cannot manage even a 30 minute walk every week.Result: 37,000 lives are lost that might otherwise be saved from premature death. Many of us succumb to diabetes and heart disease, and assorted cancers. So what to do? We can schedule 20 minutes a day for a walk , and do it! Can’t we? A good walk of this short duration can boost our natural disease killer cells, help curb inflammation within our bodies,and privent damage to our ‘energy battery cells’. I’m in. Oh, and by the way, a good daily walk can actually be, well, fun relaxing and fun. If you are up for a healthier life-style do have a look at this recent report from the Daily Mail.
A short walk of just 20 minutes could be a life changer for you. Others who say so are:
Life expectancy is increasing significantly for many of us as a result of medical breakthroughs, and general improvements in living standards. Why then do many people over 60 feel they are entering an age of fear? Losing the meaning of life, they can succumb to a declining spiral resulting in greatly reduced physical and mental powers. While growing older does, of course, create challenges for us all, perhaps leading to loss of purpose and self-worth, it is not an inevitable part of the ageing process.
The seeds of a problem
These may have been sown much earlier in our lives, when our lifestyles were dictated by different pressures than now from work,family,personal ambition, fashion, or a more youthful culture. There are also poor habits and activities which we may have practised in our earlier daily lives that are inappropriate for sustaining the wellness we hope for as we grow older. Unfortunately, there are also arbitrary stages in our lives, retirement age being one of them, family leaving the home, when change is forced upon us which can affect our view of the future and ability to cope.
So what to do?
There are steps we can easily take to make daily progress towards halting the degradation of our lives, and actually going some way to improving them, raising our enjoyment and enabling us to reach greater fulfilment.This in turn will make us feel better about ourselves and better able to take on new interests and challenges if we need them.
At the heart of a revitalising process for a better and less fearful life are what may be called good behavioural practices, or habits, in our daily lives. We can either do nothing and allow the spiral of decline to claim us,or we can take positive actions. According to writer and entrepreneur, Steve Scott, daily habits are what help define us as people. He has written a book called : 77 Good Habits To Live A Better Life. Although probably written more with younger people in mind, who wish to grow in their lives in terms of work, and success, many of the Habits covered apply to all generations. They are powerful and can significantly help 60lifers improve the quality of life, particularly, in the matter of health. Some habits are ones we may have lost over the years, or may never have had. This is knowledge many of us already have but often we never put it into practice. Just a few small and easy steps introduced as part of our every day lives can transform them.
One of Steve’s easy habits which can benefit the over 60s is : Eat within 30 minutes of waking. He says, even a very light breakfast of ,say, an English muffin smeared with a little peanut butter is sufficiently nutritious to ‘kick-start’ your body for the day. A banana can also suffice. Another half-breakfast ,after an hour or so continues to give the right signals to our body’s metabolism.
If you like me, as a younger person, allowed little or no time for this habit to form because of a busy work life, you have absolutely no excuse in laterlife to find the time to keep this habit. It is never too late to improve your health, to help you reach your maximum potential.
It is not true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!
In future posts,I will cover more easy lifestyle habits to keep – so don’t miss anything.You can sign-up for my brief emails on this page.
As inspiration to us all, Sir Bruce Forsyth, the British entertainer, recently celebrated over 70 years in show business. By all accounts he is fit and well, and continuing his career.He has recently been a co-host for the highly popular British TV show: Strictly Come Dancing . In celebrity interviews, he puts down his longevity and physical flexibility – he can still show many young’uns how to dance- to daily exercise routines carried out as soon as he wakes in the morning, and before he rises, including body stretches,hand and finger exercises, and for toes and ankles. He is clearly a man of good habit.
Go Brucie! Wishing you many more years beyond your current 85 years of age.
Before I go please let me know your comments on not letting your laterlife spoil your health.Perhaps you also have some good habits to share.
One third of people in their 60s experience a ‘later-life’ crisis
The other day ,The Daily Mail reports, the Harrogate conference of the British Psychological Society heard from Dr Oliver Robinson, a lead researcher at The University of Greenwich, that in a survey of 282 people aged 60 or over, 32 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women said they had had a crisis since the age of 60.
Why particularly at this time of life? Is it not stating the blindingly obvious, you may say, that as we become older we fear more, and feel more vulnerable? Illness and isolation become the enemies to be feared, and very often actually endured. There may be loss of family members and friends, or of gainful employment or occupation; physical or mental disability may restrict activity, and a break in connection with the world outside. This is said to be different from the ‘mid-life’ crisis of younger people.
The survey’s findings may perhaps not surprise. For some over 60, the figure of a third may seem rather low. What is there left to do, and where is it all going?
The questions are hugely important,so too is helping to find some answers. The experts conclude that unless the ‘triggers’ of a crisis, for example, bereavement or illness of a loved one, are properly addressed, then a spiral can often develop leading to and accelerating personal decline into physical and meant suffering.
It seems that two or more stressful life events, and the subsequent sense of loss, are likely to raise an acute awareness of mortality and frailty.
In Dr Robinson’s words: “It was important for people in their 60s to recognise the signs and for some to seek help.” It was not something to be ashamed about, either having these experiences or seeking help.”
And the Good News…Overcoming, the crisis can often make life seem even better than before.
Where to go to for help? Obvious immediate answers may be : your general medical practitioner, at first instance, or close family members and friends. In these pages ongoing, we will try to offer some regular and helpful information to help fill the knowledge gap, in what is a large and complex area to cover. If you see in the near future, on the side-bar of this page, an opportunity to sign-up for regular updates and news about what you have just been reading – Do sign-up! There is no cost, and no obligation, your details are treated as strictly confidential and will never be passed on elsewhere.
Health Disclaimer! The information provided on this site should not be construed as personal medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken based solely on the contents of this site. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being. The information and opinions provided here are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgment available to the authors, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.
You may wish to follow full reports covered in this article and related articles:
So you are retired ,and suddenly you have more time on your hands than before. You have had that well earned long holiday you promised yourself. Now what to do? As work commitments have receded, and the children now fully grown have flown the nest, you may want to stay gainfully occupied both for profit and enjoyment. How about writing to earn some money? Well now you can.Please read on.
You may have hankered to join the internet revolution, and have your own website, but you have not been sure how to start, or know what your site should be about. Oh,and time, of course has always been an issue before. By opening an account – free to join- at HubPages, you will have an opportunity to write short articles,and have a few,or even hundreds, of websites in your name. At no charge, and with minimal online experience ,you can quickly join a writing community. Your ‘mini-websites’ can earn an income for you. However, you have to know, this is no ‘get-rich-quick’ opportunity. Building-up to a significant regular income is a slow process that can take at the very least a few months to achieve, but many writers have been very successful.The details are at HubPages.
I am a ‘newbie’ with Hubpages. You can see my early efforts in the box over at the righthand side of this page. Do take a look.Each topic link will take you into the site.
Over the next few weeks, I shall be reporting on the60life website the progress I have made. Hopefully I can bring you the benefit of mistakes I have made , so you can avoid them,or insights gleaned,tips for maximising your earnings, on HubPages.
This is truly a great way to develop any writing skills you have, or would like, and write about subjects of particular interest to you.
If you do join HubPages – I do not gain any monetary payment if you do – please don’t forget to share your experiences with us by leaving your comments. We may learn from you! I do believe this is a real deal and must be of great interest for many readers of the60life
Of course I don’t think so. But one of the most eye-catching headlines I have seen in a while that made me chuckle appeared in the Daily Mail recently.It was: “Why are all older men stupefyingly BORING?”
During an amusing piece Liz Hodgkinson wrote: “…Alas it is the same story at every social gathering of ‘oldies’ I attend -wedding anniversaries, birthday parties,or,yes,funerals.The women will be chatty, lively and animated while the men are in a corner,shaking a few sad,last,grey hairs and staring into the distance ,looking at their watches forlornly in the hope it’s timeto go home…”
But, hey, fellas, whaddya say…? If you want to check out this amusing (if, perhaps, slightly partial) article you can at Why-older-men-stupefyingly-BORING
