new year’s resolutions

Motivation for the new year

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Have you ever wanted to do something you thought would be fun but didn’t do it because you couldn’t find someone to join you? Let’s agree to not let that happen again. There’s no reason that the lack of a companion should stop us from visiting someplace new.

Heidi Herman
motivation for the new year

Many times I would like to go to a concert or try out a new restaurant but I don’t because I don’t want to go alone. After reading Heidi Herman’s book On With the Butter! Spread More Living onto Everyday Life, I resolve to “not let that happen again” in 2021. Her book is full of motivation for the new year.

“This book was inspired by my mother, who lived her life to the fullest,” says Heidi Herman. After my mom’s recovery from a stroke in 2016 at the age of 92, my mom began promoting the message of living life with vitality no matter what your age. I helped her achieve and log 93 new activities between her 93rd and 94th birthdays, just to show you’re never too old to have fun.”

This delightful read is full of personal stories of Heidi and her inspirational Icelandic mother, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 94. One of my favorite stories was the depiction of her mom’s microwave hop. Her morning exercise routine was unique but easy to do. The challenges at the end of each chapter, with easy to use checklists, makes this a practical motivational approach. Some of the ideas in the book we have heard before, such as stay active. It doesn’t hurt to hear them again along with numerous new ideas.

Have a friend or relative retiring this year? Consider this small but mighty book as a gift. They will enjoy the inspirational quotes sprinkled throughout the book. I love this one by Hans Christian Anderson, the author of The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling:

Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.

Hans Christian Anderson

Have you made any new year’s resolutions?

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I try to make goals every year which typically include getting more exercise and learning something new.  Below is an article I came across about leading a “purposeful life after retirement.”  I think we could look at the list below as a list of possible resolutions.  Which one could you add to your list this year to lead a more “purposeful life?”

new year's resolutionsHow to Live a Purposeful Life After Retirement

Look at retirement as a time to do what you love and to try new things.

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Medically Reviewed by Pat F. Bass, III, MD, MPH

“Having a sense of purpose could add years to your life, according to a study published in 2014 in Psychological Science. Researchers from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and the University of Rochester in New York, tracked the physical and mental health of more than 7,000 American adults ages 20 to 75 for 14 years, and found that those who felt they had a purpose or direction in life outlived those who did not.

Once you retire and your children have left home, it’s easy to feel as though you have nothing left to accomplish. But older adults can still have career goals and direction, just in a different way, says E. Christine Moll, PhD, a professor in the department of counseling and human services at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and member of the American Counseling Association.

The key, she says with a nod to Jimmy Buffett, is having an attitude of gratitude: Be grateful for what you’ve done and where you’ve been, and look forward to more of the same. ‘Keep doing,’ Dr. Moll advises, perhaps by following one of these 10 ways to live a more purposeful life:

  1. Join a gym
  2. Continue your hobbies
  3. Become politically active
  4. Try something new
  5. Go back to school
  6. Volunteer
  7. Immerse yourself in culture
  8. Get into games
  9. Become an emeritus
  10. Babysit”

Read more details and suggestions on how to live a more purposeful life