Phases of Retirement

Over the next few posts, I am going to look at the Phases of Retirement. The first post will define the phases, the next few will examine what happens in each phase.

 Definitions of Phases

Individuals in the Independent Phase of later life have no physical limitations.

Individuals in the Decline Phase of later life have mild physical limitations, including difficulty with one or more of the following activities:

•                Walking 100 yards

•                Sitting for about two hours

•                Getting up from a chair after sitting for long periods

•                Climbing several flights of stairs without resting

•                Stooping, kneeling or crouching

•                Reaching or extending arms above shoulder level (either arm)

•                Pulling or pushing large objects, like a living room chair

•                Lifting or carrying weights over 10 pounds, like a heavy shopping bag of groceries

•                Picking up a 5p coin from a table

•                Using a map to figure out how to get around in a strange place

•                Recognising when you are in physical danger

•                Preparing a hot meal

•                Shopping for groceries

•                Doing work around the house or garden

•                Individuals in the Dependent Phase of later life have severe physical limitations,

•                including difficulty with one or more of the

•                following activities:

•                Climbing one flight of stairs without resting

•                Dressing, including putting on shoes and socks

•                Walking across a room

•                Bathing or showering

•                Eating, such as cutting up food

•                Getting in or out of bed

•                Using the toilet, including getting up or down

•                Making telephone calls

•                Communication (speech, hearing or eyesight)

•                Taking medications

•                Managing money, such as paying bills and keeping track of expenses

They may also have some of the difficulties described in the Decline Phase, in addition to these difficulties

Dementia prevention

It’s no surprise that adopting a healthier lifestyle is key in reducing dementia risk. When the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report earlier this year, entitled Risk Reduction of Cognitive Decline and Dementia, it found that what was good for the body was good for the brain. To help prevent or delay Dementia WHO came up  with its guidelines:

Stop smoking — even after age 60, smoking cessation has been shown to help lower risk

Manage conditions including hearing loss, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and depression

Avoid drinking in excess and middle-age weight gain.

And for the most bang for your buck, eat healthily and exercise regularly.

Diet

Researchers have long hailed the Mediterranean diet as one of the healthiest and, according to the WHO, it’s the best one for reducing the risk of dementia. It’s defined as being high in fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains; including healthy fats such as nuts and olive oil; and low in dairy and meat.

In fact, a study by Toronto’s Baycrest Rotman Research Institute showed that older adults who limited meat to once a day and ate red meat less than once a week reduced Alzheimer’s risk by 36 per cent.

At home, use less ground beef in tacos but add a handful of chopped walnuts. Or try lentils, lower in fat than even turkey, as the protein in soups and stews.

Exercise

The WHO also advises that people aged 65 and older get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity — increasing it to 300 minutes further boosts cognitive benefits. Walking briskly, swimming and cycling all fit the bill — and have been shown to extend lifespan — as do household chores such as sweeping floors and mowing the lawn.

Questions to think about

Here are four questions that hopefully will stimulate your thinking about your retirement planning. They are easy questions that are very hard to answer. In your answers think about the pictures and images they call to your mind. There is no correct or wrong answer. You will, however, notice a theme and a progression which hopefully will focus your thoughts. 

I want you to assume that you are financially secure. This means you have enough money to take care of your basic needs and wants now and in the future.
  
The first question is…how would you live your life?  
In answering this question, consider if you would you change anything? Use your imagination and do not hold back on your dreams.  Take some time and write down a description of your complete life with as much detail as you can think about. 

In the next question, you have gone to visit your doctor who tells you that you have only 5 years to live. 

The second question is What will you do in the time you have remaining to live?  What will you change in your life and how will you do it? Will you move, will you change relationships, will you travel, will you create and finish a bucket list?

We move along and you visit your doctor and you are told that you only have one day left to live. This is a shock, but take the time to notice what feelings arise as you confront your very real mortality. 

The third question is in three parts. What will I miss?,  Who did I not get to be?  What did I not get to do? As we are confronted by our own mortality or when we go to the next Celebration of Life, we should think about these questions and if we can we should take steps to be the person I am not yet, and do the things that I have not yet done and spend more time with the people I will miss.

Imagine you are the wise elder of your family and community. The last question goes beyond your life and asks you to contemplate your vision for a better world future and what you can do to create the world you would wish to live in.

The fourth question is What world you would like your grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great, great-grandchildren to live in?  When thinking about your answer, consider what lifestyle changes/actions (large or small) can you take today to ensure the sustainability of the human family and natural world around you for generations to come? What is it that you have done, or will do to make the world closer to the world you imagine for your family?

Life Planning and Retirement 2

As I said yesterday, money is a tool that should enable its owners to live lives they love, create memories they treasure and establish legacies that express their deepest values. The problem is, most people do not have a clear picture of what they truly want.  What are your goals? I imagine that they are fine goals, but are they  enough to enable you to look back at the end of your life and say: “I have lived a rich life that was truly my own, and I would not have changed a thing.”

Retirement Planning Starts with the “Why”:

One of the most popular TED Talks of all time is Simon Sinek's  “Start with the Why.” In his talk, he explains that most companies market to consumers with messages explaining “what” they do, followed by “how” they do it. This is because “what” and “how” can be clearly communicated using the logical parts of our brains. The only problem is that humans are typically not motivated by logic, but by emotion. Mr. Sinek makes a compelling case that the most important place to start is with “why.” Why we do what we do reveals what is in our hearts, and that is where true motivation and fulfillment lie.

NYU psychologist Jonathan Haidt uses a lovely analogy to explain both the logic and the emotional side of our nature: the emotional side is the elephant, the rational side is the rider. The rider of the elephant looks like he or she is in charge, but when there's a disagreement between the elephant and the rider, the elephant usually wins. The point here is emotions – positive and negative–are powerful, and you discount them at your own peril. 

As you are now retired or thinking of retirement it is important that you take the time to explore your own story. Telling your life story is important because your story has the power to inform, inspire, guide, persuade, entertain, educate, open hearts, create laughter/tears, heal and transform.

I was recently at an Elders Indigenous gathering in Vancouver and was struck by the range of experience and the collective wisdom of these people. Elders in traditional communities, through stories, fairy tales and myths, passed down through the generations their customs, culture and wisdom to ensure the survival of the community.  

Today we have lost the idea that Elders have wisdom, the industrial age undermined our connection to nature and the individual is now left to fathom out by themselves how to transition through never-ending change.  The ecological crisis, climate change, ethnic conflict, global warfare, financial debt crisis are all examples of immediate challenges for today’s communities.  Rituals and stories help us as individuals to see the world more clearly and equally make sense of our ‘place’ within it, so we owe it to our children and grandchildren to tell our stories so they can learn to navigate the complexities of their new reality.