6 Strategies for Aging Gracefully
Sooner or later, we all get old. There's nothing we can do about it, except maybe try to do it with some class, and not burden ourselves or our loved ones with all the consequences and complications. It doesn't matter if we're 55 or 75. We can still approach our senior years with some style and grace. Here are six ways to help pave the way.
1. Don't complain about it. We've already heard the jokes about colonoscopies, senior moments and midnight bathroom breaks. You're not going to add anything new, so just skip on to other issues and topics that don't so indelibly stamp you as a senior citizen. Try to keep your discussions of medical issues to a minimum. Sure, other people may share your problem and want to talk about it, and there is always time for gathering important information. But don't dwell on your infirmities and disabilities. There are other things in your life to talk about -- the books you've read, the movies you've seen, the places you've been and the plans you're making.
2. Don't harbor regrets or grudges. Are you still pining for an old boyfriend, or feeling disappointed because you didn't get into your first-choice college or into college at all? Are you holding a grudge against a colleague who was once promoted over you, or regretting an opportunity you neglected to take? There's nothing you can do about it now, so let it go. And don't feel that you have to keep your old mistakes and mishaps a deep dark secret. If you talk about them and share them with friends you'll probably discover you have plenty of company. You might even find the humor in what you once thought was an embarrassing or humiliating episode.
3. Socialize with people who make you happy. The days of office parties, long tedious lunches and business trips with people you don't like are over. You have no more obligations, except perhaps to your family. So, don't feel you have to accept a dinner invitation from your boring neighbors or the pointless volunteer job just because you think you should. Focus on the people you actually like. Spend your time with them and forget the rest.
4. Do what you want. Retirement advice often focuses on the importance of staying productive and chalking up more achievements. But many people feel that they've been doing that for 40 years and now they just want to kick back and enjoy life. If you can't relax in retirement, then when are you going to do it? What's the point of retiring if all you're going to do is get up early, rush off someplace you might not want to go to and then stumble home at night exhausted and stressed out? For some people retirement is their chance, at last, to sit around the kitchen table and read the newspaper, then lie around in their backyard and watch the clouds drift by. And there's nothing wrong with that.
5. Do it for yourself, not anyone else. Our days of trying to impress others and keep up with the Joneses should be long gone by now. If you want to start an exercise program, diet or meditation program, do it because you want to, not because your friend or neighbor is doing it. There are lots of reasons to eat right, exercise regularly and challenge your mind. But do it only if it makes you feel better about yourself, not because you think you'll fit in better with any social crowd. In other words, be yourself. If you want to let your hair go gray, who cares? If you don't want to wear a tie anymore, there's no dress code for retirement.
6. Look yourself in the mirror and like what you see. When you were young, you might have wanted to look like a movie star. But now you can look like yourself. That's not to say you should let yourself go. You might want to look your best, but it's your best, not someone else's idea of what looks acceptable. Remember, a few lines on your face give you some character, age spots show maturity and gray hair proves you've got some gravitas. We can all be proud of what we've been through, how we got here and still be confident that we've got some game left to play.
Tom Sightings blogs at Sightings at 60 .
