Contemporary Retirement
Retirement is changing. The type of retirement that their parents enjoyed is no longer enough for the baby boomer generation. Today’s retirees are younger, richer, fitter, healthier and better educated than previous generations of retirees. They also have much higher expectations. The aim of this blog is to help you get the vital, healthy, prosperous, productive and fulfilling retirement that you really want (and deserve).Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Role model retirees
Who is your best role model of a retiree? I think I’ve mentioned before that my Dad is one of mine, with his various activities which include study, volunteering and competitive athletics. As a retirement coach, I probably notice retired people and what they are up to more than most people probably would.
When I was in Florida earlier this year, I was constantly noticing people that I would consider to be good role models of retirees. For example, the two couples who were biking their way around the ‘Ding’ Darling Nature Reserve on Sanibel. We were following them around the trail and I have to confess that I was paying as much attention to them as I was to the wildlife. They were interested in everything and seemed to have boundless energy - calling to and laughing with each other all the way around. Then there were all the volunteers who staffed the shop at the same nature reserve, who were struggling to use the new and complicated cash register with relaxed good humour – happy to be learning something new.
But the one that made the biggest impression on me (and the one that I think of every day when I’m doing my workout) was the woman we spoke to at the beach on Captiva between 8 and 9 am every morning. It was difficult to estimate her age – I’d say at least 65, but she had the tautness and flexibility that come with a body 30 years younger than that. During our morning beach walk, we would ‘meet’ her at some stage in the proceedings – she would be either warming up, fastwalking along the beach or doing her cool-down stretches before heading off home.
Now, obviously, I have no idea what her life was like away from those morning sessions on the beach – she may have headed home, grabbed a bag of Fritos for breakfast and spent the rest of the day, laying on the couch watching the daytime soaps, but, somehow, I don’t think so, do you?
And before you say it, I know that it’s easier to be fit, active and energetic when you live somewhere like Florida and the weather is (usually) not an obstacle, but what about you, wherever you are in the world? Who is your best role model of a retiree? What do they do that makes them a role model? What qualities and attributes do they have that you would like more of? How could you be more like them? And when do you plan to start? Don't leave it too late, will you? You could just turn out to be the role model of a future retiree of your acquaintance...
When I was in Florida earlier this year, I was constantly noticing people that I would consider to be good role models of retirees. For example, the two couples who were biking their way around the ‘Ding’ Darling Nature Reserve on Sanibel. We were following them around the trail and I have to confess that I was paying as much attention to them as I was to the wildlife. They were interested in everything and seemed to have boundless energy - calling to and laughing with each other all the way around. Then there were all the volunteers who staffed the shop at the same nature reserve, who were struggling to use the new and complicated cash register with relaxed good humour – happy to be learning something new.
But the one that made the biggest impression on me (and the one that I think of every day when I’m doing my workout) was the woman we spoke to at the beach on Captiva between 8 and 9 am every morning. It was difficult to estimate her age – I’d say at least 65, but she had the tautness and flexibility that come with a body 30 years younger than that. During our morning beach walk, we would ‘meet’ her at some stage in the proceedings – she would be either warming up, fastwalking along the beach or doing her cool-down stretches before heading off home.
Now, obviously, I have no idea what her life was like away from those morning sessions on the beach – she may have headed home, grabbed a bag of Fritos for breakfast and spent the rest of the day, laying on the couch watching the daytime soaps, but, somehow, I don’t think so, do you?
And before you say it, I know that it’s easier to be fit, active and energetic when you live somewhere like Florida and the weather is (usually) not an obstacle, but what about you, wherever you are in the world? Who is your best role model of a retiree? What do they do that makes them a role model? What qualities and attributes do they have that you would like more of? How could you be more like them? And when do you plan to start? Don't leave it too late, will you? You could just turn out to be the role model of a future retiree of your acquaintance...
posted by Annie Harrison # 7:58 AM 
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