Can you rest? I’d never really thought about it before I retired. As a teacher, rest was simply not working on school work. When I first retired, I told myself that I was taking a year to “rest.” I think I probably meant, just not working. I did rest that first year, despite my poor… Continue reading Can You Rest?
Category: Physical Health
Trusting Your Body As You Age
I don’t really trust my body. It has a habit of suddenly breaking down with no apparent warning. One day, I’m busy sitting at my desk for six hours, and the next day my back is in spasms the minute I put on a sock. Another day, I’m enjoying a long hike with the dog,… Continue reading Trusting Your Body As You Age
Cultivating Three Spaces For Your Wellbeing
A friendly smile as I walked down the hall, and sharing frustrations with a co-worker while un-jamming the photocopier, are two of the daily interactions that disappeared when I retired. At the time they seemed fairly insignificant to my overall wellbeing. How could venting to a colleague about the construction that delayed our commute, support… Continue reading Cultivating Three Spaces For Your Wellbeing
Keep Curiosity Alive
Genius Hour was a popular concept a few years ago and I used it with my class. Every week the students would have time to pursue projects that they had designed. This was student-initiated learning: their curiosity leading to a project that they would share with the class at the end of term. It was… Continue reading Keep Curiosity Alive
Mind The Happiness Gap
*Free Happiness Gap resource included* It has long been established that what people say and what they actually do, are two completely different categories. This applies to when we’re talking to ourselves as well. We tell ourselves a different story than our actions reflect. There’s a gap. Mind The Gap It’s common for us to… Continue reading Mind The Happiness Gap
You Might As Well Jump, And Skip
I’ve been doing Zumba for years now. But I’ve only recently started adding in the jumps, instead of doing the low impact alternatives. I just assumed that it was better for me to not jump as I got older. I didn’t want to risk injuring myself. It turns out that I was wrong. So wrong.***… Continue reading You Might As Well Jump, And Skip
More Accessible Travel For All!
I was chatting with a friend recently who loves to travel but has an invisible, physical disability that makes it a challenge. She has some tips that have enabled her to travel independently in the U.K. These tips are essential for her, but are useful for all of us. 1. Plan your route from the… Continue reading More Accessible Travel For All!
Creating Healthy Habits
Our brains love to create habits. It allows our brains to relax and not use much energy. How many times do we bring conscious thought to our daily habits? We don’t need to! We brush our teeth; get into bed and turn out the lights. No thought needed. Habits Can be Beneficial, Neutral Or Unwanted… Continue reading Creating Healthy Habits
A Work/Life Balance Doesn’t Make Sense
I’m determined not to get sucked into that whirlwind of work again. Before I retired from teaching, I was a chronic over-worker. I enjoyed my job (for the most part), and filling my out-of-school hours and weekends with work felt necessary and purposeful. Perhaps it was just easier to do more work than to figure… Continue reading A Work/Life Balance Doesn’t Make Sense
Lose That Winning Streak Mentality
Celebrating someone’s ability to continue a winning streak is harmful to them and to us. We celebrate the retiree who never missed a day of work by featuring them in news articles.* But showing up every day and doing the thing, without missing a day, ever … under any circumstance, is problematic. It’s time we… Continue reading Lose That Winning Streak Mentality
Retired, And Now What? 