Retirement As You Want It

Tips for Staying Sane in a World of Economic Distress

We cannot escape the doomsday news, the drawn faces of our friends and business contacts, our own family members' anxiety about what's next. But, people all over the world have experienced economic setbacks, wars, and major losses. As Americans born after the Great Depression, we've been fortunate to have experienced a long, mostly upward swing in our lifestyle possibilities. So, this crisis doesn't fit  with our perceptions of how the world operates for us. It's the loss of our normal expectations more even than the loss of money that often causes us to feel symptoms of malaise. 

What can we do to stay healthy and sane? How can we exercise our innate resiliency? Here are some tips:

• Keep up and expand your social and business relationships. Research on emotional and physical health have found strong associations between "social support" and health and longevity.
• Take extra good care of your mind, body, and soul.Even though you might have some sleep or appetite disruption (too much or too little of either one), monitor your self-caretaking habits and continue to get exercise, eat healthy foods on regular basis throughout the day, do relaxation exercises or other forms of stress reduction activity, and make use of any spiritual practice that suits you.
• Practice thinking positively. Although you might have worried thoughts descending upon you, especially when alone or trying to sleep, you can alter this negative thought habit with practice. Develop affirmations you can believe in.
• Make decisions and take action about your finances. Rather than using avoidance, bury your head in the sand kind of behaviors, do what is necessary to downsize and economize. But, don't make this project the centerpiece of your life. Instead, include activities that involve the resiliency strategies mentioned above.
• Use this time to go back to the essentials. Spend more time with family and friends and also with pets; read books; expand or incorporate a more spiritual life; get to know yourself better - your vulnerabilities and strengths.
• Develop meaningful activities. In countless surveys, people indicate that it is meaningful relationships and activities rather than material things that make them feel fulfilled. Discover what these are for you and build them into your life.

See the American Psychological Association's "10 Ways to Build Resilience" for more tips.

If you would like to work with a life coach to develop and strengthen your resiliency to cope with stressful events such as this current economic downturn, contact me for a complimentary telephone session at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com. 

 

Boomers Need Policy Initiatives to Reflect the New Economic World

A message from Donna Rohrer at The Boomer Blog suggests that this meltdown we're in now is not likely to go back to the "normal" we know and love anytime soon. Boomers are not going to choose to buy McMansions or buy so many of those Rolex watches that are pictured in The New Yorker, nor take the elaborate trips they once did. Those in retirement or pre-retirement are down-sizing their expectations of what their next years will include. 80% of Boomers surveyed a few years ago stated they would work past retirement age, just because they wanted to stay vital and engaged. What about now?

Rohrer's message is meant not to discourage, but to jolt policy-makers in government, corporations, and non-profits to think differently to meet the realities of the current situation. Here are some ideas from her column:

• Institute new zoning regulations to incorporate whose who want to “age in place,” rather than move to a retirement community or (surely not!) to an assisted living community
• Put incentives in place to encourage contractors to build smaller, greener homes
• Build public transit that matches what forward-looking countries all over the world have - think the Bullet train in Japan
• Assist people who want to continue working over age 70 so that they will delay applying for Social Security

How is your mentality changing about how you'll live your life in these next decades? And what do you need from your policy-makers to accommodate your new reality?

Comment here or write to me at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com

Meaning Wins Over Money as Motivator for Boomers and Beyond

The Met Life Mature Market Institute published results from a survey in January 2009 that, surprisingly, demonstrates that people value Meaning even more so than they value money or even health. In "Discovering What Matters: Balancing Money, Medicine, and Meaning," 1000 people ages 45 - 74 are surveyed online about the choices they make concerning what matters most to them. The study is based on the work of Richard Leider, one of my favorite authors ( see The Power of Purpose) in the field of purpose and meaning

Wouldn't you imagine it would be concerns about money or health (which is what Medicine refers to) that would have been critical in these times? No, across those decades, people in the survey rated "spending time with friends and family" as what meant most to them. And, the older group (65-74) valued their people connections even more.

People who felt most content with their lives and optimistic about the future defined themselves as living the Good Life. Of those living the Good Life, 84% stated they lived a life with purpose. Spending time with friends and family, taking care of their physical self, and enjoying personal interests are those experiences that contributed most to their sense of a purposeful Good Life.

What is the Good Life for you, even as you face an uncertain economic future? What matters most? Is it recouping what you have lost in the stock market? Is it taking care of your physical and mental self? Is it making your community a better place or helping make things better for others? Is it loving and deep relationships?

Comment here or write to me at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com

 

Allee Willis - A Boomer Extravagante!

Allee Willis contacted me a few days ago to tell me about her party last night in honor of 91 year old drummer, Jerrie Thill, called "Hey, Jerrie." Jerrie is on oxygen, I imagine because of emphysema, but she's drumming away as she has all her life. Wished I could have been there. People Magazine wrote that "invitations to Allee Willis' ultra-exclusive parties are the campiest hot tickets in LA." But, alas, I'm in Boston. Her house, known as "Willis Wonderland," is filled with what's described as 'atomic kitsch." I understand her parties are known for their performance art; just seeing "the world's largest assemblage of kitsch" would have been a gas.

So, who's Allee Willis? That was my question. Why should I want to blog about her? It seems that she's the epitome of boomerism - "I can have it all" style. She's a GRAMMY winning composer who's collaborated with some of the best -- Bob Dylan, James Brown, Herbie Hancock -- all different genre, as you can see. Her records have sold over 50,000,000 copies.

She's an artist who's sold 1500+ pieces of painting, sculpture, furniture and motorized objects. Her works integrate music, art, video, and multi-media technology.

She's been a pioneer in cyber-media back when it was not much done - back in 1990. She and her partner Prudence Fenton developed the first social networking site.

She's consulted with Microsoft, Intel, AOL and Disney to create virtual worlds. She's been an advocate for cyber-space artists and has testified in Congress to retain artists' rights to their works in the cyber-world.

She got into theater in 2001 when she consulted on musical direction and composed what became a Tony-nominated piece. The New York Times quoted Willis as describing her work as "a blend of the highest tech and design and the lowest kitsch."

There's much more, but you'll have to check out her website if you're turned on to this multi-dimensional woman who's doing it all. She's certainly an inspiration to me.

Do you know of others whom I should feature here? Comment on the blog or write to me at karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com

One Person's Experience to Inauguration of America's New President

Tom Schade, Unitarian Universalist Minister at a church in Worcester, MA, shared his Sunday sermon with me, the one he gave prior to Martin Luther King Day and the American Inauguration. His heartfelt comments resonated for me and took me back to when JFK was elected. But, this is different and even more amazing that the US has been able to leave its history of racism behind and elect the person. Here is Tom's prose poem:

I had to ask, “what is this that I am feeling?” You don’t know what to call it:

I find myself overcome at the end of my breath,

Surprised by the  corkscrew tightenings

in the chest;  it feels 

so silly, 

these invisible shudders inside that make it hard to finish a sentence,

does anyone else see them?

I have to flap my hands and laugh;

Until the storm passes.

It’s all so corny,

 like amber waves of grain.

But I feel it when I see everyone at once,   

when I see you all.

Many writers and poets start making lists

When they are seized by this feeling:

Calling the roll of polarities:

Black and white, male and female,

young and old,

Gay and straight

as though listing each somehow

conveys this feeling for all.

But What to call that feeling?

Walt Whitman called it adhesion,

this heady eros of all for all.

Yes, eros, desire, attraction, passion.

The desire of each person for the widest vision of humanity

That their eyes can hold.

An attraction as overwhelming as first love,

And as sweet,

And as pent-up and yearning for fulfillment.

We, Americans, have been an artificially created people,

Assembled from peoples all over the globe,

And some unwillingly,

For an infinite variety of motives.  

And we have never been united,

Stumbling through the ages,

Hurting each other,

Hitting each other,

Even hating each other,

Is it any wonder that we don’t  know

How to name the adhesion that we feel,

The fellow feeling and the solidarity

That binds us together. 

But I think that is what is being stirred up

Emotionallyl

This week.

Adhesion

And what I will hope that we take forward

into the ages to come.

Eat Healthy to Live Long and Well

Have you been bombarded with nutrition advice that you rarely, if ever, heed? Is your waist as big as your hips? Would you rather take the elevator up 1 flight instead of walking? You might be among the majority of Americans, who are experiencing an epidemic of overweight-ness and obesity. Not good for your future health and happiness as you age.

Aging Well: the Magazine for Professionals Promoting Positive Aging focuses its articles this month on successful strategies for "heart healthy aging." What are the main points?

• Utilize a Mediterannean diet, including moderate amounts of extra virgin olive oil and whole plant foods. See the Mayo Clinic website. Even red wine is recommended.
• Avoid high-fat animal proteins, including red meat, pork, and full-fat dairy products
• Increase complex carbohydrates such as fruits, veggies, legumes, nonfat dairy, soy products, and nuts (especially walnuts that are low in saturated fat)

•  Moderate amounts of fish and skinless poultry

 Avocados, nuts and seeds to get the good omega-3 fatty acids; the usual omega-6 fatty acids that flood the supermakets cause inflammation that is conducive to chronic disease, said Janet Bond Brill, nutrition consultant

Eat "nutrient-dense, fiber-rich, antioxidant-boosting plant foods, such as whole grains, beans, berries, fruits, seeds, and nuts for decreased risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

The word from experts is to add those foods that are "heart healthy." You can end up eating good portions of food, as long as you avoid those high-fat animal proteins.

So, enjoy your food again! What sort of healthy eating routine satisfies your need to stay healthy, vigorous, and fulfilled?