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Podcasts 2023
| "In my early 40s I decided to develop a spreadsheet of activities and interests I had (or was interested in learning) that would keep me physically fit, keep my brain active and provide me with the much needed social connections." | |
| Sometimes we wish we could change. Change our life. Change our habits. But change just doesn't come easy for some of us. These stories illustrate the power of habits and any attempt to change them. | |
| Our experiences in life can become a treasure chest from which we can share. We can keep alive the bond between Elders, wisdom and nature. | |
| Ever had a breathing problem? I have. Now I find that a new cause of the problem may lie with electronic screens: phones, tablets, television, or gaming screens of any sort. | |
| “As I lie idly drifting on Walden Pond I cease to think and begin to be”. When does that happen? Trouble is; we wake up. We look at the front page of the paper, we talk to our kids or our grandchildren, we know that even though our days might be numbered for people we care about, life goes on. | |
| "Who made that rule, anyway?" We retired folks need to ask that question about a lot of things. We have a lifetime of experiences to guide us in decision making. | |
| Staying informed isn't easy. Our forefathers had to rely on word of mouth or the slim pamphlet that might circulate among the masses at the speed of a slow horse. Today it’s instantaneous. Electronics flash news across the screen as it is happening. | |
| This podcast has tried to avoid the topic of politics. It has not been easy. Politics is a topic that retired people have plenty of time to discuss. From this time on politics will be fair game. It is a big part of retirement. | |
| Modern societal demands have moved children far away from parents, cousins away from cousins, and sometimes, brothers and sisters away from each other. The nuclear family is not an exaggeration in any way. Family gatherings on holidays have been one of the casualties. What to do? | |
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One question that people getting close to retirement always ask is, "How much money do I need? How much is enough?" There seems to be no hard and fast rule. What is a person to do? |
| Camping and biking. The memories and stories they produce are priceless. And they don't have to end with retirement. | |
| "I just can't keep up" Ever heard someone say that. My parents used to say it when I was a kid seventy to eighty years ago. If they only knew how fast the pace of change was to accelerate they would have completely given up. | |
| Downsizing seems to be a move that accompanies retirement or just getting older. Changes accumulate and we find ourselves for any combination of reasons looking to find a change in residence. | |
| Time always seemed short and conversations rushed. There was no time to develop any sort of meaningful exchange. I would like to have had an hour or two with several of them in a one on one conversation. That would have made it worthwhile. | |
| I think about all of the different roads one may choose to take in retirement and it is almost overwhelming. It is hard to make that choice. Perhaps that is why many of us don’t do much. We just can't choose. | |
| According to Aristotle are good people because we have created good habits. We need to carefully consider what it is we are doing with our life, and then choosing the right actions we need to make them habitual. | |
| I had a great talk with a guy one time while sitting around a fire on the Serengeti Plan about heroes. This guy, Don Hill, surprised me by confessing to his strong need to lead a heroic life. | |
| Retirement should include some time for indulgence. Bertrand Russell the great British mathematician and philosopher once said; " The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time". | |
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A road trip calls. Every fall season we get the urge to head out on the open road. I never want to go and talk badly about it but my wife knows enough to push ahead. As soon as I leave the house on the trip I won't want to come home. |
| This is a follow up on episode 836 entitled “Taking One’s Own Life”. I recently received the following letter from a listener concerning this topic which I feel had a great deal of merit and deserved to be shared with my listeners. | |
| Our retirement has been marked by one project after the other. They have come to form a method for our approach to retirement. They give us direction and purpose. They also give us a way of moving that creates a sense of happiness. | |
| Maybe our good luck with neighbors comes from the six foot high cedar fence that encircles the property. It was there when we bought the place. Maybe ‘good fences do make good neighbors’. | |
| The most terrifying words we could hear would be, “There is no government. You’re on your own.” Just close your eyes and try to imagine that for a minute. It won't be a pretty picture. | |
| If I really want to do something good for my brain I will lace up my running shoes. No kidding. Exercise. Exercise like big body movements are what really perk up the old brain. | |
| I recently made contact with an old friend of mine. He retired and then did exactly what he wanted to do. Then lo and behold. Society did value it. And he does get paid. This is his story. I never had such luck. | |
| A friend asked if we knew; “What group of people in the US commit the most suicides” The correct answer: white males over eighty.“Why do people think that is a negative thing?” responded another friend – a white male, over eighty. "It only makes sense that many people when they get that old, and perhaps have severe health problems take their own life". | |
| A few years ago I received an email from Sherri Robinson who lives in Spokane Valley, Washington. She evidently felt interested enough in this topic of retirement to share some of her thoughts. It is definitely worth sharing. | |
| Frustration comes in various ways and at odd times. The question is always what to do when it does work its way into our lives. Of course, the responses vary – sort of like the reason for the frustration. | |
| Creating and maintaining a retirement of your own choosing isn’t easy. The world is so very busy, outside stimuli is so great. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in many ways. Eternal vigilance is required to maintain one’s sense of self. | |
| Staying fit is an all encompassing goal. It isn't enough to be fit for one thing only; we want to be fit for life. That is much different than being able to stack baled hay all day, run a marathon, or do the hundred yard dash. | |
| For whatever reasons eating out has come to play a major role in our lives. Retirement and eating out certainly seem to go together. Thus retirement and gaining weight seem to go together. That’s a problem. | |
| Most of us have time to consider dying, especially retired people. We have managed to reach the retirement phase of life. We know that death awaits. Why is it then that we hesitate or refuse to plan for this definite destiny? | |
| This podcast comes to me from a listener in Australia. The listener has definitely given some serious thought to retirement. Enjoy. | |
| Last week my wife and I went to a dermatologist for a skin scan. A friend of ours who has had skin cancers removed for over thirty years insisted that we do this. He claimed that it went with retirement. | |
| Last week my wife and I went to a dermatologist for a skin scan. A friend of ours who has had skin cancers removed for over thirty years insisted that we do this. He claimed that it went with retirement. | |
| Since you are listening to this program – a podcast – I assume you make an attempt to keep up with technological changes. The thing is – just when you think you have caught up, here comes another “thing”. | |
| “He who has many friends, has no friends”. I think Aristotle said that. Life experience has supported the truth of it. It seems like developing friendship requires a certain amount of time; but not always. | |
| We have told our kids that as we grow older we want them to always speak freely and bring us up to speed when they visit. Throw out what needs to be thrown out, and go shopping for things that could use replacing. | |
| Travel is one thing that people in retirement and those nearing retirement seem to always have on their agenda. I remember my mother at age 65 bouncing up and down on some tundra just above Anchorage smiling and exclaiming, "Imagine, I am in Alaska"! | |
| Communicating across generations is something of a challenge that we retired people have to learn. There are no classes, college courses, or “how to…” books on this one. We must all invent our own method. Or, we can just let it happen…if it does. | |
| “We don’t have good habits because we are good,” Aristotle said. “We are good because we have good habits.” That line sticks in my mind from somewhere in the past. | |
| When it comes to retirement and getting around, the best answer seems to be choosing where you live carefully. If you can walk and find everything you might need or want the problem of getting around can disappear – along with your car. | |
| How long does it take to shave? Five minutes – maybe ten. Not longer. This morning while walking to a health club my wife noted that I had not shaved for a few days. “I haven’t had time to shave," I responded. | |
| Here I am, retired, no child in our society. Casinos and gambling are very much part of our culture; yet I find them beyond understanding. For many of the retired gambling is part of their life. Why? | |
| All the murders, yet no one advocates for gun control in this country, at least not gun control as I came to understand it on that African plain many years ago. Here is my story of what constitutes real gun control. | |
| There is something about unconditional love – it isn't easy to find. But that is what a dog gives to a person. It can be a great boon to retirement. | |
| Eternal quote: “The older generation really messed up this world. When we get older, when we get some younger people elected to office, we will straighten things out. We will leave this a much better world than we found.” | |
| I especially want to encourage anyone fairly new to this podcast to go back through the archives to the very earliest episodes to find thoughts on considering retirement that were in my mind shortly after I retired. Enjoy. | |
| According to a recently published book on retirement loneliness is a major problem. When our work life ends many of us have a hard time adjusting to a role where we are not required to socialize with others. We retreat. | |
813 Death, Escape, Retirement |
We are always on the road to dying. It can come quickly and quite unexpectedly. We may have escaped death once, twice, or perhaps several times. If we are lucky Retirement becomes a possibility. |
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from. A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops. Copyright 2010 RetirementTalk.org |
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