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Reinventing Retirement Newsletter
Life
Span or Health Span?
Longevity
is the big story these days as it should be. But what are we really
talking about? Simply living longer is not what most of us want.
Medical science has make it possible for us to do that already, often
at great cost to our personal dignity and well-being, with a
devastating emotional and financial toll on our families, and drain
on the economy. See: The View from the ICU
http://slate.msn.com/id/2120863/ What
we do want is to live longer in good health, and we can do more than
we realize to accomplish that goal. No doubt you've heard stories of
people who break all the good health rules, then live on to shatter
age records. They are news because they are unusual. To improve our
health span, most of us will have to 'eat right and exercise.' Here
are a few other habits that we believe can contribute to increasing your
health span as well as your years.
Do
Good work. As a health-maintenance strategy and
life-extender, good work deserves far more attention that it is
currently receiving. Unfortunately, in overworked America, work
gets a bad rap. As Marc Freedman, president of Civic Ventures says:
“Midlife overwork in America has
reached pathological proportions. Indeed, this situation presents
one of the greatest challenges to realizing the aspirations of our
aging society.” For staying healthy in mind, body and spirit
throughout life, we advocate new thinking about work: let it be
first of all enjoyable, whether for a paycheck or purely
altruistic motives, and at a tempo we
can sustain – part time, flex-time, job sharing and so on.
Let our work give us a reason to rise cheerfully in the morning, and
go to bed happy that we have been needed, and that we have had an
opportunity to contribute something important: ourselves. Start
an Information Diet. According to Coachville
CEO, Dave Buck, when life coaching began about 25 years ago,
everyone believed that The Information Age would solve many problems
of society and make people happier and more successful. Instead,
Buck told a meeting of New England coaches, the glut of information
has created a frenzy to keep up, to get on top of 'it,' producing
stress and adding to what he identifies as three killer problems:
the feeling of being overwhelmed, isolation and frustration. Do we
really need the distraction of another celebrity magazine or show? Is it really
inevitable that doubling the population of people 65 by 2030
automatically means a drastic increase in health care costs, as is commonly reported?
Too
much information (what we have dubbed the TMI moment in our family),
bogs us down instead of freeing us. It also cuts into our time to
dream, imagine, envision, think clearly, and relate well to others. You've heard
(way too much, probably) about the obesity epidemic in this country,
but we also suffer from an epidemic of information overload. So,
health maintenance tip #2: be more selective about what you let in;
seek what is nourishing, useful and beneficial. We like the BBC on
line for worldwide news, and here are two other sources to
consider for balanced information about your health:
http://www.sagecrossroads.net/
and http://www.infoaging.org/b-tel-home.html Exercise
Your Rights. We all have
issues that upset or enrage us, yet how many of us are willing to
get involved, rock the boat, or write that op-ed piece or letter to the
editor? Maybe it won't get published, but then again, maybe it
will. It's good practice, anyway. We think one of the healthiest, most life-affirming things we can
do as elders (even if you've just crossed the 50 year line, this
means you) is to realize how powerful we can be as a group.
Suffered age discrimination in hiring or on the job? Do something
about it before that issue gets into your tissues. Mad as hell at
being held responsible for bankrupting the country? Speak up. We
read a spot-on guest column by Ann Medlock (founder and creative
director of Giraffe Heroes project, www.giraffe.org)
called Leaders Need to Have More Faith in Americans,
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/228055_focus12.html
Of
course, you're way too savvy to be smoking, or even tolerating
restaurants who haven't banned smoking yet. Latest research on
smoking and aging to share with backsliders in your family or circle:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4086900.stm And
you know the importance of social connections and community to your
well-being. Got some other thoughts on the subject? Write to
marika@2young2retire.com.
And here's to your health span. POTPOURRI What
Will They Think of Next: German police finally caught up with the
Grandpa Gang, three men, 64, 73, and 74, who robbed banks of almost
$1.25 million over a 16 year period to fund their retirement. Now
that sounds like hard work. Although
we had to overcome our initial resistance to the title “Rule Your
Retirement,” we have since subscribed to The Motley Fool's monthly
newsletter by the same name, see www.ruleyourretirement.com
and recommend it to you. MF
calls it retirement, we call it financial independence. Tomato,
tomahto, it's about being able to choose what you want to do with the
rest of your life. Here's a quote from Fool writer, Seth Jayson (June
edition) that complements our opening piece on health: “Studies show
that afflictions commonly thought of as inevitable effects of aging are
the fallout of a sedentary lifestyle ... regular exercise ... can boost
energy and fitness to a level that equates to taking 20 years off the
clock.” Nice!
We
just got the first of our six issues of Worthwhile, a new magazine,
which is as good as its name. Subscribe at www.worthwhilemag.com
Clearing
out the computer (a good thing to do periodically) released this
gem, sent by a yogi friend some time ago. Sit
back....take a few deep breaths.....and
enjoy!!! http://www.llangley.com/yoga/wisdom/rightnow[2].htm June
is big birthday month in our family. How important is remembering a
birthday or being remembered to you?
All
the best, Marika
and Howard
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