I’ve written a book on the importance of staying intellectually, socially and physically engaged in retirement. I’ve even been bold enough to title it: The Successful Retirement Guide: Hundreds of Suggestions on How to Stay Intellectually, Socially, and Physically Engaged for the Best Years of Your Life. It becomes reasonable to ask: 

Am I living what I preach?

Since “retiring” from life in a big corporation, I have written a set of goals for each year. I divide them into categories of intellectual, social and physical with usually six to ten goals in each category. I monitor my progress throughout the year; add, delete or modify goals as conditions change; and I give each goal a rating of “accomplished” or “not accomplished” at year-end. Goals that were not accomplished may be carried over into the following year. (Full disclosure: Part of my career was in Human Resources.) 

So, what’s been accomplished, and what am I doing?

One major accomplishment has been this book. It took longer than I anticipated to write, longer than I anticipated to link up with a publisher, and longer than I anticipated to get it into your hands. But here it is!

Another accomplishment has been travel. While I was working, most travel was for business or vacation (aka: time away from work, usually with offspring, usually for a week at a time and not too far away). Now travel is usually for more than a week, frequently farther away and, most importantly, I have much more time for learning in advance about the geography, history, art, architecture, food, beverages, languages, religions, governments and social customs of the places my wife Barbara and I will visit. I try to drive my own car when traveling to keep the itinerary flexible, and I like to incorporate lots of walking — for the exercise certainly, but also to get an enhanced feeling for the cities and countryside.

Where have I been since retiring five years ago? I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to hike Italy’s Cinque Terra, scale Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence, cruise the canals in Venice, explore the forums of ancient Rome, attend the opera in Vicenza, sample cheese and truffles (the fungal variety) in Bologna, sniff the sulfurous fumes of Volcano in the Aeolian Islands, climb Mount Aetna, follow the whiskey trail in Scotland (like Napa, but with more fire in the belly), sing in a pub in Kenmare, camp and ride a camel in the Sahara, explore the Medina in Marrakech, float down the Ganges River at sunrise, ride an elephant into a Raja’s fort, photo capture a leopard in Kenya, tour the windmills in Holland’s Kinderdijk, sample chocolate in Belgium and sail in Belize, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and up the east coast of the U.S.

Travel and sailing (particularly if you can bareboat (meaning you are the captain, not that you are naked)) are great activities because they can nicely encompass the intellectual, social and physical. But travel is limited for most of us by constraints of money and other responsibilities. So, while I look forward to more travel and sailing, what am I up to on a more day-to-day basis?

For my mind . .

I study Italian — in classes and on my own. While language study is good intellectually, some knowledge of Italian can also be helpful in restaurants and makes travel in Italy (one of my favorite places to visit) much more enjoyable.

I study music theory using a keyboard and guitar. And I work at improving my proficiency as a guitar player using my Gibson J-45 acoustic and Les Paul electric.

I read at least one intellectually stimulating, non-fiction book a month. I place no limits on my fiction reading.

I participate in several courses or learning programs each year. The subject matter is quite diverse. One course of particular interest to me was Calculus. It was the only course in which I had done poorly during my academic years. I promised myself that someday I would revisit it and really understand it. Mission accomplished. 

I play at becoming a better bridge and chess player. I do crossword and Sudoku puzzles every day.

For my body . . .

Yoga and stretching: My wife convinced me to join her yoga class (I was usually the only guy), and I came away thoroughly convinced of its value for strength, flexibility and balance. I do 30-40 minutes of stretching and yoga every morning.

Walking: I do four miles a day outdoors in reasonable weather; in less attractive conditions I use a treadmill. In the summer I add swimming half a mile several times a week. In the winter, I add snowshoeing, if the weatherman has been kind enough to provide some snow.

Weights: I use free and machine weights every other day.

Weight: I also have a weight (reduction) goal. I have had this goal for five years. I am sure I will achieve it…one of these years.

For socialization . . . 

Prior to retirement, my social activities were largely tied to my 9-to-10 hours a day at work and a small circle of friends and relatives. Post retirement, I still have the circle of friends and relatives, and on occasion see folks from where I used to work, but with the loss of 50 hours of interaction from the workplace, there is a need for me to make sure my other activities incorporate a social aspect, e.g. walk with someone; walk with my golden retriever puppy Rufus, “the chick magnet” (he introduces me to all sorts of people); take classes that involve class interaction; choose volunteer activities that involve working with others; travel with other couples.

Becoming an author is also good for socialization. While the initial drafting may be mostly a solo activity, the promotion and selling of a book requires a lot of interaction.  And I have been able to explore personally many of the activities discussed in this book — this was certainly part of the fun of researching it — and I am looking forward to further discoveries of interesting things to do.

Finally, I am working to de-clutter my life. It seems like we go through life accumulating all sorts of stuff — books, clothes, records, tools, photos, furniture, luggage, decorative items, bicycles, hardware, software, games, sports equipment, old socks and so on. While there are some things I want to retain for practical or sentimental reasons, there is a bunch of stuff that I don’t need and wouldn’t miss and which can thus be sold, donated or trashed. I am not completely sure why, but de-cluttering leaves me with a sense of increased freedom and mental space (in addition to the physical space the “clutter” formerly occupied). 
    

Overall, I see myself as a work in progress. I want to explore as many roads as I can along the way. My life is worth living, and I’m having great fun living it!