Each year you are growing older and at some point, you will begin to worry about it. When you hit 30, you might feel you are losing your youth. However, if you stay fit by moving a lot (reasonable exercise regimen) you can really carry much youth into your 40s and 50s and even 60s.
In the 60s, you may slow down a bit but with some good genes and good life style (exercise, diet and luck), you still can be better off than many couch potatoes in their 40s. What is the greatest worry then when you go over 60?
I think what worries most people when they reach 60 are concern of going stale; in other words a depreciation of brainpower. I have followed this debate quite a bit and have touched on it before in this web log. Now there is ever more news to rejoice about brainpower as you age up.
New research shows that it is not all doom and gloom for those classed by society as ‘over the hill.’ Neuroscience continues to confirm that many mental functions hold well into old age and others even get better. Vocabulary improves, as do other verbal abilities with synonyms and antonyms. The old thought that old brains are senile brains disproves for good.
Biological deterioration continues with the aging mind but it can take the slow lane by using the brain. Scientific evidence has long held that older people might not be good for complex tasks including multitasking as the ability to switch between tasks deteriorates as we age. Try driving your car at 65 and talking on the cell phone at the same time, and then watch your 20-30 year old child do the same task with ease.
A key finding is that expert knowledge – information about an occupational or even hobbyist specialty – resists the effects of aging. Therefore, while younger brains solve problems in steps older brains can call on cognitive abilities of a problem and solution that worked before. I have also witnessed in my working days at UNICEF, how some young person delighted at a new idea will pose an extraneous proposal as if it will work magic only for some seasoned staffer to point out how we had trodden that path before and succeeded or failed. UN Past Masters, in view of extensive experience can be much better at identifying the key levers to translate insight into action.
This brings me to the conclusion that in retirement if you continue to work it is better to stick to what you really know and do well, whether it is your past profession or a hobby. From over 20 people in retirement, I can recall that the most successful retirees are those who continued to work in their appropriate fields. By sticking to their field of work they were able to bring out their very best, even better than when they were in employ with UNICEF; longevity of expert knowledge never failed them. So true is the old saying: “stick to your guns?” In business, the R-word throws about lightly, but even in retirement, Alan Greenspan is able to shake the markets because when he speaks people respect his expertise and it shakes the world’s financial markets.
In addition, with age, empathy and understanding increase to the point that anger is controlled which fits in with being at peace with oneself as age comes along. I have so often heard from a very old man or woman the statement “I am at peace with myself.” This really means that with age, many negative emotions of sadness, jealousy, discontent and hate diminish. Some of the jolliest people I have met in UNICEF were some retirees who returned for specialized tasks. This sends a good message to all people that emptying our emotions of hate can bring peace to oneself at an earlier age in life. How much better it is to be at peace with oneself in young working years and be the best loved among your office colleagues and family.
A whole industry exists with claims to stop you from aging. Even some smart doctors have also become preachers. One woman suffering with cancer was informed that ‘just pray and take these pills and you would be just okay. This medicine is with God's blessings and the $20,000 or so paid for it also helps in doing God’s good work. In that, strong belief the woman gave up the regular chemotherapy and other medications prescribed by regular doctors and eventually died after a very short time. Just be careful of false claims. When people are desperate, whether in investments or health, they become easy targets and are vulnerable. Moreover, as Jesus said over 2000 years ago, “there will be bad people pretending to be good but they are just wolves in sheep clothing.”
Do everything to take care of yourself and age up stellar
Further reading in this web log: Retirement - Another State of Life and Out of Retirement
For more resources, please refer to articles in the sports index and the health index.
PS: I was inspired to write this article after reading "The Upside of Aging" by Sharon Begley, Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2007.
Comments