One of the caricatures of retirement is the long nap. While I am a great fan of naps and have used and continue to rely on them for self-care, retirement is not a time to go to sleep. We may take a few more naps, but in retirement we need to develop the discipline of “waking up” more than ever.
Without the mental stimulation of our work and regular contact with other people, we can easily slip into a sort of walking nap. We no longer challenge the mind with questions and conundrums. We may stop exploring and grappling with the world around us. We may allow our mind to accept the day-to-day events at face value and simply do not want to be bothered with challenges and inconsistencies. Many may feel that they have done their part and now they just want to be left alone. Welcome to the walking nap.
I have not seen any articles that argues for a link between dementia and an inactive mind, but many believe that keeping the mind alert and active may delay the onset of dementia or lessen its impact on our lives. Others have suggested that by improving the mind’s ability to wrestle with daily life we will extend the time that we can be self-sufficient and live independently. There is no doubt that we will live a more socially active and engaging life when we are able to stay curious and engaged in our daily activities.
What does “staying awake” in retirement look like? It means staying current with the news around us. It means staying in touch with family and friends regularly. If we have spent a lifetime working with our hands, it may mean keeping busy with physical projects. If we have been engaged in the people-business, it may mean continuing to engage in relationships beyond our family and finding ways to increase our interactions. If we have spent a lifetime reading or working quietly on our own, it may mean signing up for a Kindle Unlimited Account and keep on reading. Staying fully awake may even mean reaching out beyond our life-long patterns and engaging the world in new and alternate ways.
It is very easy to let the naps take over our lives. But in retirement, our lives depend on staying engaged, alert, and mentally active. In short, stay awake! Or, if you have found yourself slipping away, “Wake up!”
Without the mental stimulation of our work and regular contact with other people, we can easily slip into a sort of walking nap. We no longer challenge the mind with questions and conundrums. We may stop exploring and grappling with the world around us. We may allow our mind to accept the day-to-day events at face value and simply do not want to be bothered with challenges and inconsistencies. Many may feel that they have done their part and now they just want to be left alone. Welcome to the walking nap.
I have not seen any articles that argues for a link between dementia and an inactive mind, but many believe that keeping the mind alert and active may delay the onset of dementia or lessen its impact on our lives. Others have suggested that by improving the mind’s ability to wrestle with daily life we will extend the time that we can be self-sufficient and live independently. There is no doubt that we will live a more socially active and engaging life when we are able to stay curious and engaged in our daily activities.
What does “staying awake” in retirement look like? It means staying current with the news around us. It means staying in touch with family and friends regularly. If we have spent a lifetime working with our hands, it may mean keeping busy with physical projects. If we have been engaged in the people-business, it may mean continuing to engage in relationships beyond our family and finding ways to increase our interactions. If we have spent a lifetime reading or working quietly on our own, it may mean signing up for a Kindle Unlimited Account and keep on reading. Staying fully awake may even mean reaching out beyond our life-long patterns and engaging the world in new and alternate ways.
It is very easy to let the naps take over our lives. But in retirement, our lives depend on staying engaged, alert, and mentally active. In short, stay awake! Or, if you have found yourself slipping away, “Wake up!”
Tips for Staying Awake
Pursue your interests and/or develop new ones.
Look upon your retirement as a time to more actively pursue the hobbies you have been enjoying for many years. Take a class or two and hone your existing skills. Expand your knowledge and find new ways of enjoying your hobby(ies). If your existing interests no longer bring you joy, look for new ways to experience and enhance your everyday life. While working, we may have allowed our work to shape our choice of hobbies by choosing something that would serve “double-duty”. But in retirement, we have the time to explore other interests. If they light up our days, then pursue them. If not, move on and try something else. Do not be afraid to explore areas that you never thought you would like. Freed from the constraints of pleasing an employer or client, explore your wants and needs. There may be a whole new world within you that is about to be revealed.
Allow Time for Reflection
Retirement offers one gift that we have never really had before, a long lifetime of experiences ready to be explored. In retirement we have the opportunity to look back and grow through our remembered experiences. This does not mean we have to write a memoir or piece together a scrapbook, though either may be possibilities if we are so inclined. Rather, simply spend time with family and old friends to explore the “good old days.” Look back through your pictures or memorabilia and let the stories tell themselves. Do not be afraid of asking about and exploring life-lessons learned and opportunities that may have slipped through unnoticed. Reflection allows us to embrace our lives as we actually lived it. It will likely lead us to seek forgiveness from ourselves and celebrate the good that has been an important part of our journey. Either way it can offer us a path to the peace we deserve.
Time for Mentoring and Sharing
Lastly, retirement offers us an opportunity to reach out to younger folks with mentoring and sharing.
This does not mean lecturing them about the way it was done in the good old days. This does not mean telling the younger generation that they are incredibly inept and unworthy of the world that was left to them. This does not mean expecting them to lean on every word you speak as it was uttered by the voice of a god.
It does mean listening and being a voice of encouragement in their lives. It does mean recognizing that they have things to teach us and we respect them enough to listen to what they have to say. It does mean that we will communicate our willingness to place the world in their hands and trust that they will grow through their mistakes just as we did. We do not expect perfection, only faithfulness to the future. We do not expect obedience, only engagement for the good of others. In mentoring and sharing, we will tie the bow around a life well-lived.
By staying awake, we will increase the love and trust, joy and hope in our lives and help those who follow to embrace these healthy values as well.
Live well, my friends. We can still make a difference!
Bob Dees
Look upon your retirement as a time to more actively pursue the hobbies you have been enjoying for many years. Take a class or two and hone your existing skills. Expand your knowledge and find new ways of enjoying your hobby(ies). If your existing interests no longer bring you joy, look for new ways to experience and enhance your everyday life. While working, we may have allowed our work to shape our choice of hobbies by choosing something that would serve “double-duty”. But in retirement, we have the time to explore other interests. If they light up our days, then pursue them. If not, move on and try something else. Do not be afraid to explore areas that you never thought you would like. Freed from the constraints of pleasing an employer or client, explore your wants and needs. There may be a whole new world within you that is about to be revealed.
Allow Time for Reflection
Retirement offers one gift that we have never really had before, a long lifetime of experiences ready to be explored. In retirement we have the opportunity to look back and grow through our remembered experiences. This does not mean we have to write a memoir or piece together a scrapbook, though either may be possibilities if we are so inclined. Rather, simply spend time with family and old friends to explore the “good old days.” Look back through your pictures or memorabilia and let the stories tell themselves. Do not be afraid of asking about and exploring life-lessons learned and opportunities that may have slipped through unnoticed. Reflection allows us to embrace our lives as we actually lived it. It will likely lead us to seek forgiveness from ourselves and celebrate the good that has been an important part of our journey. Either way it can offer us a path to the peace we deserve.
Time for Mentoring and Sharing
Lastly, retirement offers us an opportunity to reach out to younger folks with mentoring and sharing.
This does not mean lecturing them about the way it was done in the good old days. This does not mean telling the younger generation that they are incredibly inept and unworthy of the world that was left to them. This does not mean expecting them to lean on every word you speak as it was uttered by the voice of a god.
It does mean listening and being a voice of encouragement in their lives. It does mean recognizing that they have things to teach us and we respect them enough to listen to what they have to say. It does mean that we will communicate our willingness to place the world in their hands and trust that they will grow through their mistakes just as we did. We do not expect perfection, only faithfulness to the future. We do not expect obedience, only engagement for the good of others. In mentoring and sharing, we will tie the bow around a life well-lived.
By staying awake, we will increase the love and trust, joy and hope in our lives and help those who follow to embrace these healthy values as well.
Live well, my friends. We can still make a difference!
Bob Dees
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