Learn How to Survive Old Age
There’s no denying that by the time you get to retirement age, most people would consider you to be an older person. But the secret to being happy in retirement is to learn how to survive old age. It all starts with your mind and, if you can maintain a positive outlook and keep learning and doing new things, you’ll be the envy of all your friends. They’ll ask you how you stay so young. While aging is definitely a physical occurrence, our minds and our thoughts control far more than you realize. You’ve got to stay young by thinking young. So, how do you do that?
I believe the most important part of maintaining a youthful outlook is to pay attention to what young people are doing in the world and I know that’s not always easy. But it helps to go back to our own youth and revisit the mindset that made up our generation. My “coming of youth” was during the time of the Vietnam War, protests in the streets and Woodstock and we all felt that the older generation had left us a world that was totally messed up. Look around today and, without too much of a stretch, you can see the frustration with the headlines that grab our attention on a daily basis. Think to the days when “our music” was not appreciated by our parents and our life decisions caused them nothing but despair. When I think back to those days, I start to look at the youth of today with a little more sensitivity. When I commuted to college, I could fill my gas tank for under four dollars, and it would last me the whole week. While it was true that I was making about two dollars an hour washing dishes in a restaurant, the cost of everything was much more reasonable. We bought our first house with a $2,000 down payment and getting into a sporting event didn’t cost a week’s salary. Step back and think about what the young people in the world are facing and take a moment to listen to their perspectives about how to fix the problems of today. It might get you to see things differently and change the way you see the world. It might even help you to think like you did when you were young and to remember what it was like to go out into the world. Retirement is like entering into a new world as well and you have to learn how to survive old age in the same way you got through your youth.
You can learn how to survive old age by remembering what it was like to be young.
When we were young, we did anything we could to make money (well, almost anything). I worked a full-time job at the same time that I was a full-time student and was trying to find a way to get an education and get as much money in my bank account as possible. You try to make your way in this world and take on anything the world throws at you. Now, it’s a different story. We’ve got all the time in the world and, hopefully, our money problems are behind us. But you have to learn how to survive old age to take advantage of the time you’ve been given and the ability to do things that could only dream about when you were working, like playing golf all day, taking in a show or movie whenever you want and traveling the world to savor new experiences at almost every turn. One trip is better than the next and all you want to do is to keep your “winning streak” going. You don’t want this wonderful life to end but you know there are more candles on your cake with each passing year. You want to learn how to survive old age and delay Father Time’s impact as long as possible.
You should always have something planned. We always try to stay at least a vacation ahead of the game. We never start a vacation without having another one on the books and we make the planning process as detailed as we can. Unless we’re on a cruise or another pre-packaged tour, we research the restaurants where we want to go and work around some the sights that we will be touring. It’s easy to do. Enter a search for “best restaurants near the Vatican” or whatever site you will be seeing, and you’ll have a variety of places to choose from with menus and reviews. By doing this, you’ll enhance your level of enjoyment and enthusiasm, which will have a positive impact on your outlook. We almost always use the services of a competent guide which will increase your learning about the places that you’re visiting. If you want to learn how to survive old age, try those two changes to your lifestyle and watch how your mental outlook improves and your approach to life becomes energized.
Of course, you also have to pay attention to the basics as well and eat a balanced diet and maintain a healthy exercise program. When you combine that with a healthy night’s sleep, you’re well on your way to forestalling the impacts of aging. Challenge your mind, maintain a healthy, young and positive outlook on life and approach your Golden Years with the mindset that there’s nothing you can’t do. Learn how to survive old age by creating a private world where there are always things to look forward to and not enough time in the day to do it all. You might feel like you’ve found the Fountain of Youth. Go ahead and give it a try. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
Thanks for visiting. If you like what you see here, please tell your friends. If you haven’t done so already, be sure you take The Self Discovery Challenge for Retirement! It’s designed to help you make the most of this wonderful time of your life. You’re never too old to discover something new about yourself and it's one more way to help you survive old age.
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