Stay Active

Want to stay alive, stay active. Spending day after day on the couch watching TV does nothing to keep you going. You have spent your whole life growing skills and abilities. Going out and getting things done, and making good things happen. If you are to stay upright, mobile and active, you have to keep doing what you’ve always done. Stay active. You’ll end up in the laying down mode soon enough and for a very long time.

When I went through my retirement briefing in the Air Force, the presentation was a weeklong training session. It turns out that retired military, or really retired anybody who just stopped working and starts sitting around the house, have a good chance of being dead in about two years. The trick to avoiding this demise is to do what you’ve always done.

You get up in the morning, take a shower, and you shave something (we had both men and women in our retirement class). You make your bed, and you go out and find something to do. Even better, have your to-do list planned out so you can look forward to what you’re going to go out and do.

Technology, cosmetology, and medicine have all made great strides in helping us to stay physically younger, longer. Please remember that they can’t do it all for us, we need to meet them halfway. Activity does that.

I’m not saying you have to work until you drop over. Do things that interest you. Maybe you volunteer somewhere one day a week. Maybe take some courses somewhere. It could be on the computer, or a free class in your town somewhere, or in a local college.

If you talk with your local community college, you might be able to audit a course or two for free. You get all of the knowledge, interaction with other people, and even a chance to pass some ideas on to a younger generation. You get to do all that and not have to pay for the class. If you’re working on a new degree, maybe it’s worth paying for the course. The important thing is that you have social interaction with others.

I’m not saying to never rest. We all need adequate rest, and maybe a time to relax and watch our favorite show, do a puzzle or read a book. We just don’t need to do it all the time. The idea of aging gracefully is all right, you just don’t want to give up on your full potential.

Thanks for being with me today. I hope to be with you again soon.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof