The Best of the Web for Every Pillar
What are other people saying about Wellness, Connections, Purpose, Financials and FUN!?
Today we’re going to peruse the best the web has to offer on our pillars: Wellness, Connections, Purpose, Financials and FUN! Go ahead. Click a few links and find new ideas and new ways to incorporate these principles into your retirement planning.
Connections
The first link comes to us from TED. I love TED talks and this one is a fun one! I don’t know if you’ve heard about the Harvard Study of Adult Development. It’s a study that took a group of Harvard sophomore men and a group of men of about the same age from the Boston projects and did a comprehensive analysis of them over the years. The participants that are still part of the study are now in their 90s. They asked very specific questions about health and lifestyle and life experiences on a routine basis over all of these years. We’ve learned a ton from this study. The dude that is now leading the study is the speaker for this talk about the learnings as they pertain to health and happiness. What did they find? If you’re hoping for a lecture on exercise and eating spinach, or wealth and fame, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The healthiest, happiest of the participants, it turns out, were those with quality connections. Listen up dudes. These are men that we’re talking about. We can extrapolate that these results would be similar for the female of the species, but this study specifically looks at men and concludes that you guys out there who think connections are mostly for networking and water cooler conversations might want to think again and find ways to meaningfully connect in your Third Act. —>Connections
Financial
At some point I’m going to write an entire newsletter on the subject of this link. Here’s how the article starts: “THE DRUMBEAT of ‘retirement crisis’ is much too loud. While 54% of retirees believe there’s a national retirement crisis, just 4% describe their own retirement situation as a crisis. And whereas 90% of recent retirees are able to spend freely, within reason, or can cover their needs and also engage in some discretionary spending, only 10% say that they’re on a strict budget.” Everybody that I talk with (including me, on some level) is freaked out about having enough money to retire. And, once they retire, they don’t want to spend money because they are still afraid of the future. They want guarantees. Unfortunately, the only thing anyone can guarantee is that you are not going to get a guarantee no matter how long you wait for one. And, while you are waiting, your grandkids are growing up and your left knee is giving out and those big dreams are getting smaller. I’m not saying to be reckless; I’m saying to read this article, look at your own situation and come up with a Plan B if things go REALLY south - like downsizing, moving or picking up a gig. And remember that spending at age 84, adjusted for inflation, is 23% less than it was at age 62 among college-educated American couples. In discussing spending, living and engagement in retirement, the author ends by saying “But why not give money to the next generation with a warm hand rather than with a cold one?” Nice. —> Financial
Purpose
Purpose is a tough one. People hear the word “purpose” and they think it’s The Great Reason for Their Existence. That’s an awful lot of pressure to put on a small word, not to mention on your shoulders that might not be as broad as they used to be. If you want to change the world, more power to you. Have a grandiose purpose and go for it! For the rest of us, purpose is really just the thing that gets us out of bed in the morning. It will change many times over your retirement, just as it has changed many times over your life up until retirement. (Maybe it was first to get into the college of your dreams or be the best history major on campus. Then maybe it was to make a mark in your industry. Then, maybe family became your purpose, etc.) This article from Psychology Today encourages you to think locally for your purpose, suggesting things like friendship, compassion, small joys and creative endeavors. They have 9 ideas. Do any of them speak to you? —> Purpose
FUN!
FUN is where you find it! There are as many ways to have fun as there are ways to spend your time and everyone’s ideas are different. But if you are at a bit of a sticking point, or if you’ve spent your time the way your boss and your family suggested for the last 30 or 40 years and forgot to think about how you wanted to spend it, check out this list of 60 things to do in your 60s. (They work for 40s, 50s and 70s, too.) —> FUN
Wellness
So, you want to have quality connections, live your purpose and even change it from time to time, have a BALL doing whatever the heck you want to do and relax the purse strings a little to make all of your dreams come true in retirement? Fantastic! Now, think about doing all of those things in a strong, healthy body vs a frail, weak one. Which one did you choose? Fortunately, or unfortunately, the choice is nearly 100% yours. Genes have very little to do with frailty in old age. Exercise and not eating crap have everything to do with it - along with a little sleep and mindfulness. Chris Crowley (literally) wrote the book on how to do this stuff. He’s 87 years old and bikes 50 miles at a pop and skis double blacks. He’s been doing it and writing about it for nearly 2 decades. Read the book. Barring that, read this little ditty and see if that inspires you. —> Wellness
So, there you go. Lots of people doing the same things we’re aspiring to do! Lots of inspiration, motivation and interesting ideas. Lots of ways to go on your roadmap to retirement. See you on the backroads!