Living a Long and Healthy Life | Timi Gustafson, R.D.

When John F. Kennedy Jr. died along with his wife and sister-in-law in a tragic plane crash a few years ago, his uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, said in his eulogy that John had been given every gift life has to offer – except for the gift of time. Being able to live a long life, especially when it is a good life, is considered by most of us to be a blessing. Reaching old age is part of what we hope for – for ourselves as well as for our loved ones.

A Long Life Is Considered a Blessing by Most
So Much More Reason to Live It to the Fullest

Modern medicine and higher standards of living have enabled us to nearly double our average life expectancy over the course of only a century. The number of folks living over one hundred years is steadily rising. In most places, you won’t get a congratulatory call or letter on your birthday from the mayor’s office any more because there are too many centennial celebrations these days. Reaching old age is now the norm rather than the exception.

There are plenty of warnings about the potentially negative implications and consequences of our extended longevity. Finances, of course, can be a major concern. Our traditional views of retirement may no longer be applicable when people live for another thirty or forty years after they leave the work force. Employer-sponsored pension plans are fading away fast and personal savings are in many cases not sufficient to bridge the gap between a fixed income and the ever rising costs of living.

Another growing concern is the need for affordable health care that can become an ever more pressing matter with age. These are real problems that most of us will be forced to deal with – especially the baby boomer generation who is about to enter retirement. The alarm bells are ringing loud and clear, but there are few plans to prevent a serious crisis that could affect our society as a whole.

It is needless to say that one can feel overwhelmed and helpless in the face of such dire prospects. And yet, I’m optimistic that the blessings of longevity will not turn into a curse. There’s a lot we can do on a personal level to make the best of our “golden years” – but it requires a different game plan than the one we followed for so long.

We already know that for most of us the old life plans – education, career, retirement – no longer hold. In addition to formal schooling, life-long learning is required for most workers just to remain employable. Instead of staying in one career, many of us typically change jobs several times during their professional lives. In the past, people retired not because they reached a certain age but rather because they were too old to keep working. Typically, they died soon afterwards. By contrast, retirement age today forces a great number of employees out of the work force when they are practically still in their prime (just look at retiring airline pilots).

Partly out of financial necessity, partly out of the desire to fill their remaining years with something meaningful to do, many retirees look for new activities hoping to find another career- or business opportunity for themselves. There’s a lot of talk about “reinventing” retirement and there’s no shortage of professional advice how to go about it.

A critical component of this “reinvention” consists of the development of a different mindset. Retirement can no longer be seen as a time of rest after years of work. In fact, we should see it as another stage of life where we may be less career-minded but more driven by our personal interests. For some, it may be the right time to retire when the kids are grown up and their responsibilities as bread-winners and providers are lessened. For others, it may be a time when the dream of their lifetime finally can come true.

It is also important to remember that retirement does not just happen at the moment when we reach that certain age. Being ready for the “golden years” requires a lifetime of preparation – not just financially.

Many “successful” retirees will tell you that they kept doing more or less the same things they’ve always been good at. If they were physically active and maintained a healthy lifestyle over the years, they usually are not plagued by the aches and pains of old age. If they were intellectually curious throughout their lives, they typically remain mentally fit in later years as well. No doubt, the deposits we make early in life have a way of paying off when we need them the most.

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