Page 28 - Seniors Today -April20

lifestyle. While little can be done about
Being older is not an excuse to stay inert. Find out what
you can do, and what you like, and enjoy life
when people of yore used to move away to
jungles to contemplate) is when you start
sharing your wisdom and experiences
and mentor others. You will find your
former juniors earning more than you,
reaching higher positions than you, leading
a company, etc. Similarly, you may find
your own children surpassing what you
had achieved. You ought to be celebrating
such successes and feel good at your
own contributions to their achievement.
Retirement calls for a lot of forbearance or
what one would call as titiksa. At the end
of the day, you have had your place under
the sun in your prime and now you need to
make space to let others enjoy their place
under the sun. Without this positivity of
mind and self-confidence, we may go down
an abyss of depression. After all, life is a
journey to be cherished from start to end
regardless of our relative position.
2) Physiological – One of the greatest joys
of life is to have good health and an active
life. There could be only three possibilities
– we are in good health, in average health
or in poor health – all of which are a result
of our past discipline (or indiscipline) in
ingestion of food, regimen of exercises and
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our past indulgences or infractions, we
can proactively look at how best to handle
our current health situation and control
and improve it. If you have diabetes or
cholesterol, review and control food
consumption, exercise and jog and keep your
mental faculties active and alert. If you are
a heart patient, be proactive in following the
doctor’s advice and abide by it. If you have
any joint or muscle pains, do exercises to
alleviate it. If you have flexibility problems,
do the stretching exercises.
Whatever be the case or the severity, be
active as necessary and advised. Play games
that you can handle – try being a child all
over; you will be rejuvenated. Enjoy the hugs
with your partner. Spend time with your
family and friends. Travel, go an adventure
trip, discover new places. Learn to dance,
learn to sing. Whatever it may be, stay active.
Old age is no excuse to stay inert.
I know of a runners group (aptly called
the Zippers Club, denoting the surgical
scar running down their chest; I was
briefly a part of it till my right knee gave
me a warning) consisting mostly of
bypass patients in their late 60s and mid
70s practicing running regularly and
participating in half marathons. That’s zest
for life. That’s joie de vivre! Do you live life or
let life just pass – it is up to you.
3) Financial – This is simply about the
most complex part of our life – our finances
– and how well one is equipped to handle it.
Financial independence is obviously a good
thing, but how many of us are lucky enough
to have pension or sufficient savings. Are
you managing whatever you have to ensure
that it gets you some tax efficient returns
to cover your inflation covered living costs.
Do you consult an investment advisor?
Do you do some research and homework