Self Insight and Growth

Retirement is a time for self-reflection and hopefully a time of self-insight and growth. When it comes to trying to find the answers inside yourself, you have to dig deep into your soul and your mind to find the answers you are looking for. It is a long process and no one will tell you that it is easy, yet you can accomplish much by putting forth the effort.

Retirement is a new phase of life and a new opportunity to change, grow and develop new dreams. Searching for insight will help you to find your dreams as well as to feel motivated enough to make them come true. This is all having a better insight of yourself.

Sometimes it takes some time to become the someone you want to be in retirement but as you grow, you will find that it will be easier for you to handle your lack of responsibilities or new responsibilities. This will help you to be able to define who you are and what you want in life as a newly retired person.

You may have experienced some hard time but you have learned how to overcome. How do you find the right path for you and how do you get on the right path? It will all depend on you and your mind frame on how fast you will progress. It is going to take some time but as you learn to work on it, it will come to you faster than someone who only thinks they want it. In order to become that successfully retired person that you want to be, there is work that you are going to have to do.

Create some goals. It does not matter how long they are or how short they may be. Once they are down on paper, then you are going to have to learn to work at achieving your goals. You could even hang them in the kitchen. This way you can see them and read them each day to keep your mind fresh. When you recently read something, it will soon sink in and this will make it so that you will always be working on your goals. Once you have your goals you will see that the rest will come, natural to you and it will help you to become a very successful retired person.

Work til you drop

Do you expect to retire and live comfortably? Many people in Britain do not. Research from Scottish Widows shows that while higher workplace pension contributions will help narrow the gap between retirement savings, many need to be doing a lot more to ensure a comfortable retirement. 44% of people are not saving the recommended 12% of their salary towards retirement each year.

As a result, many will have to work beyond retirement age. More than half (51%) of Brits now expect to continue working at least part-time past retirement age, and a fifth (18%) say that working beyond the age of 65 will be a necessity rather than a choice. Only a quarter (24%) expect to have completely retired by the time they’re 65

This means that More than three million people expect to work until they die, with another 10 million saying they will work until they are physically unable to do so.

Young people, in particular, are pessimistic about their retirement prospects – only one in 20 (5%) of 18-24-year-olds expecting to retire by the age of 65, and 11% of 25-34-year-olds (11%).

Nearly one in five (18%) people say they’ll work longer than they want to because they worry about their level of saving. Just under a third (32%) of 25– 54-year-olds worry they haven’t been saving enough in their early years, and two-fifths (39%) of people fear running completely out of money in retirement.

The gender pay gap extends into retirement. Women tend to have smaller pensions because they are more likely to have spent time out of the workplace caring for children or relatives and tend to be paid less. As a result, women are more concerned than men about the cost of later life. Just over two-fifths (43%) of women are concerned that they’ll run out of money during retirement, while only a third (34%) of men feel this way.

The old idea that when people around the age of 60 to 65 they gave up work once and from the Scottish Widows clearly shows that working after age 65 is a necessity rather than a choice for too many workers.

One of the good things coming out of Britain is that they instituted an auto-enrolment program for retirement which has been a great success in kick-starting the savings habit for millions. Britain is also increasing the minimum contribution and this should, in the long-term, mean that more people have valuable pension funds to live off as they approach later life. 

Life expectancy continues to rise, and as many work past “retirement age” should still contribute to their pension savings. Today only a third of people who expect to carry on working past retirement age think they will continue to pay into a pension but over time this number is likely to go up.

The above was taken from a story written by Cherry Reynard on 05/04/2018 and published online 

Exercise

Exercise is important for seniors. In our workshops on Health and Wellness, I talk about the need for seniors to be physically active at least 30 minutes a day for a minimum of 5 days a week. What I don't do is talk about what type of exercise is best. As seniors, many of us have all sorts of physical conditions that don't allow us to the same exercises as those younger than us. If you have not been active it is important that you always check with your healthcare provider to ensure the exercise regime you are about to start is the best one for you. 

Three articles on the best exercise at any age caught my eye. One is from US News Today and the other from Pure Health Research and the final one is from Oprah. They are similar in their advice.  

Age 50s - Protect your heart and core. Being active is not an assurance to realize that, aches and pains will start to crop up now. This is the time to battle your body's tendency to curve forward in your 50s, which can cause chronic back pain, don't slouch while you're walking—extend your body. This simple change can make a big difference in your spinal alignment. It is best and recommended for 30 minutes of aerobic activity five times per week to preserve heart health as you age. In your 50s, exercising with mild to moderate exertion instead is effective, and you and you can do it every day of the week because you won't be sidelined by extreme fatigue or muscle soreness.

Protect your heart and core. No matter how active you've been, aches and pains will start to crop up now, 

You'll also have to fight your body's tendency to curve forward in your 50s, which can cause chronic back pain and give you a "dowager's hump." They recommend yoga and pilates for strengthening your abs and back, or "core." And don't slouch while you're walking—extend your body. This simple change can make a big difference in your spinal alignment.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends 30 minutes of aerobic activity five times per week to preserve heart health as you age. Since you'll start to need more recovery time from vigorous workouts in your 50s, the experts suggest exercising with mild to moderate exertion instead. It's just as effective, and you can do it every day of the week because you won't be sidelined by extreme fatigue or muscle soreness.

Age 60 and above - Physical activity includes leisure time physical activity like walking, dancing, gardening, swimming. For occupational exercise, you can do household chores, play, games, sports or planned exercise in the context of daily, family, and community activities. Senior citizens should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.

Focus on prevention. Are you exercising regularly? Good—you are less likely to die prematurely from a chronic condition such as diabetes or heart disease, the AHA says. Staying strong through your 60s will also improve your odds of surviving a fall, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pegs as a high risk once you hit 65. Recent research found that women in their 60s and 70s face as much as five times the risk of death within a year of suffering a hip fracture. Strong muscles and bones and good balance can help you avoid taking a tumble.

For the 60 plus age group
What to do: Regular strength training 
Why: Not for the reason you think: You'll give your brain a lift. Women in their 60s and 70s who lifted weights twice a week had fewer white matter lesions on their brains, a warning sign of cognitive decline that is also connected to a higher risk of dangerous falls, according to a study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. Those who strength-trained only once a week didn't see the same benefits. 

The Plan: Using medium-heavy weights (you should be able to do 10 reps of each move before you need a break), do a variety of moves that work your whole body for 40 minutes, twice a week. Here are a few exercises to get you started: this move that works your arms and abs at the same time; a great shoulder toner; and this combo exercise that strengthens your entire lower body. 

What to do: Light activity like walking and gardening 
Why: Weight gain after menopause—especially extra weight around your midsection—can increase your risk for health problems like diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers. It's easier to gain weight after menopause, but there is a silver lining: It's also easier to lose it. Even light physical activity, like walking and gardening, has a bigger impact on the weight and belly fat of post-menopausal women than younger women (per new research presented at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society.) 
The Plan: Find an activity that gets you up and moving regularly and try to commit to 30 minutes of it every day.


The amount of physical activity you need to do each week depends on your age.  Regardless of what type of activities you choose, physicians and other experts suggest choosing something you enjoy to stay on the path to optimum health and wellbeing through exercise.

Sailing

Living the life of your dreams is a lot like sailing. You pick your destination, hoist up your sail, make minor adjustments while the journey is underway, and let the wind do all the hard work.

In other words, imagine the end result, do what little you can, make minor adjustments while the journey is underway, and then blow your mind.

W-e-e-e-e-e-e!