Do you fear the future? Longer lives can bring us to a future we might not have prepared for…
By Linda Fodrini‐Johnson, MA, MFT, CMC
Founder & Chairman, Eldercare Services
I was talking to a group of friends recently – most of us in our 60’s and one said, “I wish I could just take these young people who are destroying their health with drinking and drugs and shake them.” He was referring to his own pattern as a younger man not knowing that they would disable him and prevent him from the type of active retirement he had envisioned.
Others were talking about having had a wonderful career with success and the resources to enjoy life very well, but now they wished they had saved more rather than to spending on what they now consider frivolous.
At age 60, we might have thirty more years of life – here are 10 actions we can do now to have a good life later:
- Exercise, stay hydrated and use sunscreen.
- Eat healthy – Look for organic foods, eat more fruit and veggies, whole grains, limit red meats and eat more wild fish.
- Stay engaged with friends and family & continue to learn.
- Be generous – give of your time and resources.
- Have a Financial Planner and an Estate Planning Attorney review your documents every few years at the least.
- Have regular physical examinations – if you are on Medicare, look up all those exams covered for free and take advantage of pro-active health measures.
- Stay positive – let go of things you can “overlook” and choose those things that enrich your life.
- Forgive yourself for not being perfect – forgive others for not being perfect.
- Try meditation, yoga, prayer once a day – mindfulness activities increase well-being.
- If you find yourself grieving or depressed, get help. Know the pain will subside with time and professional help.
At Eldercare Services many of our Aging Life Care Professionals are also licensed mental health providers and they can help you when you get in one of those hard places. They can also help with challenges of longer life and the planning of a good long life, too!
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Soren Kierkegaard