Monthly Archives: January 2021

Fifty Plus: Wishful Thinking is Not a Plan

Wishing we had more will power to save for retirement, to lose extra pounds, or to write that book we’ve been planning to do for years usually doesn’t help us achieve the goals that are important to us. Some motivational bloggers do tell us is that we need to have SMART goals – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Using a SMART plan as a basic guideline makes sense for many personal goals, but I also find that breaking down larger goals into their component parts also makes sense.Small Steps Towards a Larger GoalFor example, most people hope that they…

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Retirement: What Kind of Life Do You Really Want?

After working hard for several years and enduring all kinds of stress, the idea of kicking back and relaxing in retirement can sound pretty inviting. Some people dream of traveling, relaxing on beaches, and taking it easy. But for many, the luster of this lifestyle generally wears off within about two years. At that point, it’s a pretty good idea to have a long-term plan. Ideally, you’ll even have a sense of the lifestyle you really want long before you leave your career. A Traditional Retirement Vision Mike Drak, the author of Victory Lap and Retirement Heaven or Hell, suggested…

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Over Fifty: Reset Your Health and Well-Being

At the beginning of each new year, more people set goals to lose weight, change habits, or improve their lives than probably any other time of the year. For those of us who are on the south side of fifty, it is more important than ever to make sure we are doing all we can to take care of ourselves. Let’s face it, as we age, we are at greater risk of facing serious health-related consequences if we neglect our health and well-being. Key Behaviors for Health and Well-Being As summarized in a Well and Good article, experts generally agree…

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Long-Term Stress, Consequences, and Management

If adapting to the pandemic over the past several months hasn’t been enough, 24-7 news coverage of deaths, sickness, and economic ruin could discourage even the most positive among us. In addition to dealing with the pandemic, we’ve been mired in one of the ugliest political seasons in decades. We also had devastating fires and storms toward the end of the summer. And then, when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, we witnessed in real-time an unthinkable attack on the U.S. Capitol.If you have been feeling more than a little stressed lately, you’re not alone. However, how we cope…

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Elder-Wise: Honoring the Past, Present, & Future

The late Civil Rights activist and Congressman John Lewis reminded readers in his book, Across That Bridge, that what anyone hopes to accomplish will likely not be new. We build on the past and learn from the elders who have laid the foundation for the future. As older adults, we have the wisdom to know that we have benefited from those who have come before us. Many of the skills and knowledge we have developed were ones that have been passed from one generation to the next—whether it is the pleasurable act of reading, playing a musical instrument, or solving…

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