What do you think of when you read about risks in old age? Does it make your shoulders slump and a general depression of thought encompass you?
Is it the risk of falling down and breaking a bone, a hip maybe and then the long process of healing and perhaps incapacitation? This is a very real fear and the remedy, of course, is to strengthen our muscles and exercise regularly. Walking, swimming and low impact sports are good for the bones, as are lifting weights. An easy exercise is to try doing a few squats each time you brush your teeth.
In a short time, you will be surprised how many you can effortlessly do. This will help alleviate the potential for falls and better help your body with balance. At least we have good joint replacements available now that weren’t around for previous generations.
The good news about dementia
Is it the risk of getting dementia and becoming perpetually bewildered? The good news is that dementia is not a prerequisite of ageing – it is neither inevitable nor common. Many factors are implicated in developing dementia at any age, and there are certain ways to minimise the possibility. They include making sure you eat a healthy Mediterranean style diet rich in fruits, vegetables, pulses and some meat. Exercise and keeping active are also crucial for brain function as much as it is for keeping those joints flexible and healthy.
Probably another risk that comes to mind is the risk of losing money or running out of money as we age. But here in Australia we are amazingly fortunate to have the Age Pension as a back-up plan to our own superannuation funds.
Our social welfare system is the envy of many countries and, happily, the youth of today can look forward to a good retirement courtesy of the government’s push many years ago for compulsory superannuation. And the risk of losing money? Well, we all have to be hypervigilant about scammers. Stop. Think. Check with others if something seems suspicious.
But what if I said the biggest risk of old age is to NOT take risks – to not try that new activity, to not attempt to meet new people out of a fear of shyness or rejection. So much of ageing focuses on the things we shouldn’t do, the things we have lost or on the invisibility that society casts across us, that we forget to focus on the really important things, the things that make us feel alive and that give us the joy in living.
Rediscover your passion
Once we are old and, dare I say, retired, we can rediscover the attributes we probably overlooked as a young person. Perhaps we can tap into the creative side of our nature that was pushed away in search of a good job that paid the bills.
How many of us took up a career as “something to fall back on” rather than what was our passion? Now that passion can emerge, guilt free.
That might be a new hobby, a new career change even, taking up bridge, going to mahjong classes, whatever it is that will enable you to find excitement and human companionship. After all, we are social animals and just because we get old, does not mean that our needs lessen or that we can’t find new people interesting and challenging in our lives.
We have to seize life by the throat and shake out every last drop of it. After all, you only get this chance once.
What do you think of taking risks in retirement? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Also read: when health habits aren’t that healthy
