Retirement As You Want It

Will You Be Dancing Into Your 90s?

When we see an old, old person in her 90's we imagine she will be decrepit, stooped over, with a walker or even a wheelchair. Imagine our surprise when this stooped over little woman bursts out in dance.

See this video, called "Mathilde's Solo." I couldn't watch it without tapping my foot and smiling.

How do we make it more probable that we will be thriving, energetic, loving our lives in our 90s?

One question: Are we loving who we are in our 50's, 60s and beyond? Or are we bemoaning our losses? losses of attractiveness, of energy, of flexibility, of resilience to injury? Are we bored with ourselves? Or do we constantly challenge ourselves to new learning, new creativity, new experiences?

I went to CVS to get a new passport photo today. I was chagrined to see the deeply carved frown mark between my eyes. In the professional photo I use, that frown mark is brushed out. "Can't you touch that up?" I asked the 20 year old kid who waited on me. "You look nice," he said.

My husband and I were digging up our veggie garden to get it ready for planting. All of a sudden, he threw down the pick axe he was heaving into the soil, yelled, and dropped down on his back. Even though he had warned me, "Watch your back," he completely forgot that he had been out of commission for weeks last fall because of herniated disks. But days later, he's still mostly pain-free, not writhing in agony as he was last fall. Why is that? Because he spent all these months strengthening his core to prevent further episodes.

How are you "strengthening your core" to steel yourself from injury, discomfort, loss of brain power, loss of enthusiasm? How are you making yourself resilient so that you too can dance at age 90-something? What are you doing to maintain your youthful exuberance while also solidifying the wisdom of maturity?

Write your stories of resiliency here in the comment section.

 

Exercising Your Creativity Keeps You Vibrant in Mind and Soul

Check out my Huff/Post50 article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karma-kitaj/creativity_b_1180007.html

It’s about exercising our creativity and how this affects us in our health, our spirit, and our motivation in all areas of life. I've written before about my starting to create art only 1 1/2  years ago, after meeting creativity coach and artist Sandra Shuman on my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age."

I got introduced by an artist friend, Lola Baltzell, to encaustic art, an ancient process of layering layers of hot wax on a porous surface and then painting on that and embedding collaging materials onto it. I fell in love with the process and set up an art studio of my own.

Recently, I began to participate in a course, called "Coach's Studio: Where Outrageously Creative Coaching Happens," based on the book Becoming a Life Change Artist by Fred Mandell and Kathy Jordan. So, I'm bringing my love for creating visual art into helping people to see their life changes as creative acts.

In the months since I wrote this Huffington Post article, I've gone full steam ahead with my art. What have I noticed about this process?

1. I'm in a totally present place when I create - in the zone
2. Time passes effortlessly
3. I've become more risk-taking ( in a safe way!) which encourages my creativity in other domains of life
4. I always have something joyful to anticipate.
5. Immersing myself in my art work has inspired me to promote creativity in others - my clients and friends - as I'm convinced of the benefits to our well-being when we exercise our right as well as left brain
   
6.  I keep stretching the boundaries of what I've done before - building new brain connections, which research tells us protects from cognitive dysfunction as we age.

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Alivelihood Guests Demonstrate Their Zest For Lives After 50

Here are 3 more inspiring people from my TV show who are role models for people who want to embark on new initiatives in their 6th decade and older.

Lynn Serper was in the midst of completing her dissertation in special ed, when at age 48 she suffered a ruptured aneurism and cerebral stroke, leaving her aphasic and unable to live independently. After years of treatment and determination to succeed, she recovered her speech and writing skills. She went on to finish her degree and founded a company called Serper Method, in which she teaches people with cognitive dysfunction to retrieve and maintain their skills. 

Nancy Lelewer Sonnabend has been a researcher and speaker in the field of learning disabilities for all her adult life, being dyslexic herself and having children with cognitive disabilities. She was told she could never write a book, but published 2 – 1 about her struggles raising children with disabilities on her own   and the other about her childhood, growing up as a child with dyslexia when no one knew what that was.

 

 

Dianne Callan worked in the telecommunication field as a corporate atty  for 35 years, way before women entered that field. A math major, she was facile at picking up technology skills. She loved her job but was laid off when her company was sold in 2008. Since then she’s launched her encore career, wanting to make a difference working on issues that involve climate change and renewable energy.

See short clips of all Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age TV shows at my YouTube channel.

 

TV Show Exhibits Passionate People in Their Encore Careers

Here are some more of the inspirational people whom I've met and interviewed for my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age."

• Economics professor Mary Stevenson  semi-retired from her post of many decades, realizing that she wanted to use her facility for teaching in a completely new way. In her 50s she discovered that she no longer could neglect her body, even though it had always served her well. She started exercising, loved it, and began to take certifications in NIA, Ageless Grace, and Zumba -- methods that she is tailoring for the older population in classes in the Boston area.
  

 

• Kathie Malley-Morrison, psychology professor, researched and taught about violence in the home and in communities before turning her astute mind to even larger issues - violence in the world. Her new blog, "Engaging Peace" is an attempt to document all the ways that people world-wide are countering violence by peaceful means.

 

• Social worker, milliner, and beauty consultant Marilyn Feldman turned her humanitarian spirit to create "days of beauty" for homeless women in shelters all over the Boston area. She and 2 old friends from California founded "Glamour Project" which provides a personalized day of pampering to women who otherwise would not be able to see themselves as beautiful. 

Check out short clips of all of my shows at YouTube.

 

More Stories of People Who've Found New Adventures in the 3rd Age

Do you need inspiration about what your next act might be? Listen to the stories of some of the people whom I've interviewed for my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age."

• Florence Goulet emigrated to the US from Uganda where she grew up in a small village with parents who were illiterate, but intent on their children's being educated. She and all of her siblings went to college and when Florence came here, she decided to pass on this dedication to the children of her country. She founded a non-profit, the Stella-Rosie Foundation to help her send children in her village to school. 
  

• Jo-Ann Ross spent her middle career as a speech pathologist, a career she loved. She became renowned for working with aerobic instructors who injured their voices by having to yell over the music. But, she was ready for a change -- she always loved wine, drinking it, learning about it, researching it. She since has been trained as a high level wine educator and public speaker and is in her element passing on her love for wine to others.  

 

• Brookline Access TV Board member, Peter Miller, got his PhD after 35 years of being an ABD (all but dissertation). Even after decades of success in the field of promoting communications technology to meet the needs of underserved populations, he finds that the PhD has opened more doors for him to narrow the "digital divide." He hopes to involve more seniors in assisted living, people who live in housing projects, and teen centers into the world of computer technology.
  

Passionate People Speak About Their Lives Over 50

I've been interviewing passionate people over age 50 on my TV show, called "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age, for the past 4 years. Here are a few capsule summaries of recent guests:

• Joan Ditzion was an original founder of Our Bodies, Ourselves, the groundbreaking book about women's reproductive health and sexuality. It has been published in many languages and last year it celebrated its 40th year with the publication of its 9th edition. She talks about the impact that "the book" has had on her life. "I've grown up with OBOS," she gleefully declares, from being a young wife, then mother, than woman going through menopause, to grandmothering. She is thrilled to have met many of the women around the world who are translating the book's mission to reflect the culture of diverse communities.

 

• Margaret Morganroth Gullette, author of Agewise: Fighting the New Ageism in America, 
  and several other books on ageism, started her book writing career when her 1st book was just about to be featured in the major media and she was on her way to volunteer in her community's "sister city" in Nicaragua. That adventure has blossomed into a decades' long involvement where she has spearheaded many positive changes for women who want to get an education.
  
  

 

•   Dave Flanagan is a retired officer in the Coast Guard, an occupation that fascinated him for decades. Not content to withdraw from life after his exciting years on the seas, he became entranced with the bamboo he saw during his stint in Panama. Interested in conserving land, rather than seeing the rainforest and wildlife being devastated by being overly cut, he decided to work with locals to preserve it. This led to his next career, creating artful bamboo fences.
  

To see short clips of all of my shows, go to YouTube. If you are stuck about creating a joyful life after 50, these people are glorious role models of "alivelihood." I also coach people who are motivated to find their "calling," but not doing it on their own. Contact me at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com or Comment below this post.

Exercising Your Creativity Keeps You Vibrant in Mind and Soul

Check out my newest Huff/Post50 blog.

It’s about my exercising my creativity and how this affects us in our health, our spirit, and our motivation in all areas of life. I've written before about my starting to create art one year ago, after meeting Sandra Shuman, a wonderful creativity coach and artist on my TV show.

I got introduced by an artist friend, Lola Baltzell, to encaustic art, an ancient process of layering hot wax on a porous surface and then embedding any collaging materials onto that. I fell in love with the process and set up an art studio and create pictures a good part of the weekend.  Although I've only been doing this for a little over a year, I already think of myself differently... I look at the natural world in different ways. I notice things more. I am more present to myself and the environment. And I'm beginning to develop a new network of people who also express their innate creativity. 

See this picture and more at my Etsy shop.

Read my Huff/Post article to learn how this keeps you vibrant and healthy in ways you wouldn't expect. 

How do you want to express your creativity in the new year?

If you think you don't have a creative bone in your body, know that this is inaccurate. I found out last year! Come and work with me to find your creative gifts. I offer intro complimentary coaching meetings. Email me at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com.

Are You Ready to Retire Wild and Free?

Renegade author Ernie J.Zelinski has published another compelling book about how to live life to the fullest. How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement wisdom that you won't get from your financial advisor (2009) breaks conventions, challenges us to think out of the box, and gives us a thoroughly good read.

Rather than the conventional advice we read in the Wall Street Journal, he counsels us to retire as early as possible and to cut back on spending, instead of waiting until we've got millions in investments awaiting our retirement. As one who did so, he can speak from experience. Zelinski and many of his admirers (whose letters he publishes in the book) have found that they just don't need that much money to have a wonderful time after leaving their full-time job.

His mantra is that "retirement can set you free." It's a time, Zelinski writes, when you can discover your true self, your calling, your creativity. No longer do you have to bow to convention, to conformity, or to pleasing the ghosts of your parents. Now you can open up to experience, create a new identity, and you never need be bored.

Zelinski provides a thought-provoking list of 100's of "Activities for your Get a Life Tree," including:

• record the history of your home town
• walk barefoot through a mountain stream
• play the guitar that's been in the closet for 26 years
• make a movie
• have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend with no planned ending time
• learn how to swim
• research the Green Tortoise bus tours and choose one to take
• visit a cemetery and find an interesting epitaph
• and 100s more

I've been getting a taste of what he's talking about in the last few years, although I'm still working. One year ago, I uncovered my artistic side. I started making pictures using an ancient form of painting called encaustic. See my store at Etsy. I even had my 1st art exhibit a few weeks ago, where I sold 1/3 of the pictures.

I also started doing improvisational acting after meeting the wonderful improv coach, Daena Giardella. It's another passion and one I can imagine devoting more time to after I'm not working so much.

If you're thinking of leaving or downsizing from your work life and don't have alot of things that grab your attention outside of work, it's time to read Zelinski's book. Incorporating some of his advice BEFORE you retire is essential. Don't go to that retirement party and think you'll take some months to sleep late, exercise more, and see what comes up the next day and days to come. Make it happen before that.

Try new things. Deepen your interests and people connections outside of work right now. Joan Gancarski, one of the people I interviewed for my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age," has made a pledge to try something new every day. That keeps her fresh and vibrant, which is not commonplace in people of any age.

Brain research tells us that the more we challenge ourselves to try new things, the more likely we are to avoid any form of dementia. Aside from the joy of new experiences, we are apt to keep ourselves brain-healthy until the day we die with this simple wisdom.

If you're at a loss about how to start to live wild and free, get in touch for a complimentary coaching conversation on the phone or Skype.

 

How to Thrive Over 50 in Huffington Post

See my blog post in the new edition of Huffington Post called Huff/Post50. www.huffingtonpost.com/karma-kitaj I write about how to thrive in the 3rd Age, focusing attention on some of the research that the positive psychology field has been doing. I remember decades ago that my mother used to write things she was grateful for in her gratitude journal. I guess this stuff has been around for a long time. It's "deceptively simple," as someone has commented on the Huff/Post blog. But, if you practice it regularly, you can apparently change the way your brain operates. If you go to the Huff/Post entry, mentioned above, please scroll down to the bottom and leave your comment. In order to do so, you have to either:

• sign into Huffington Post
• comment through your Facebook page
• or through Twitter

 

For Those Who Are Bored With Their Leisure

I recently wrote a chapter for an upcoming ebook about aging smart, to be published in December. My chapter is about leisure and play. Ernie Zelinski's book, The Joy of Not Working: A book for the retired, unemployed, and overworked gave me alot of inspiration.   


"Being unable to retire can be a tragedy, as can the actual act of retiring," wrote Zelinski. We all know of people who have looked forward to retirement for years, only to find they are utterly at loose ends, knowing nothing about how to use their time, finding themselves doing busy work, watching alot of TV, going to the gym every day and getting bored with that. Some mourn the identity they left behind. Some might get depressed.

Zelinski says he's hardly ever had a full-time job, sometimes has lived on very little money, but has NEVER been bored. How can we achieve that state of zest, a sense of being alive, loving to explore and experience the world?

The key to thoroughly enjoying your leisure time, he writes, is to PAY ATTENTION. What does this mean? When we pay attention to the world around us, we notice opportunities everywhere. It might take a different mindset, the practice of opening our minds to the new, to detail, to things we've taken for granted that are right in our midst. It reminds me of what meditation people call a "beginner's mind."

Remember what it was like to be with young children when they encounter something new (everything!), that wide-eyed wonder and excitement? Well, that's just what paying attention with a beginner's mind is about.

One of the chapters in this book is titled: "Somebody is Boring Me; I Think It Is Me." I love that. I sometimes ask my bored clients, "Are you boring yourself?" in an effort to jolt them into self-awareness. If you are bored, consider how to do the following:

• think or do something unusual
• make a difference in someone's life
• let go of need to fit in and please others
• become your own source of satisfaction
• stop blaming others for your bored unfulfilled life
• credit yourself when you do feel fulfilled

"You may be living, but are you alive," he asks. Get involved in ACTIVE activities. Be in the moment.

If you are having difficulty getting past your own gremlins to change your mindset to an ALIVE one, rather than a half-dead one, contact me at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com. I'll show you how.