Don’t Let Your Brain Retire

As I approach 5 years of writing this blog, another of my first posts jumped out while I was reminiscing, so I am re-issuing this one as it is as relevant now as it was then.

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      Retirement is – or should be – a chance to exhale and relax after all those years working. Time to do what you’ve always wanted to do, and do it on your time, not someone else’s. All too frequently that is not the case. Whether it’s due to finances, health issues, Covid lockdowns, or other roadblocks, too often retirement leads to stagnation of body and mind.

      In my case, I had a lot of plans when I retired a little over a year ago. Covid’s impacts on mobility and gatherings put the kibosh on many of them and knocked me back a bit both physically and mentally. Meeting friends for lunch, going to the local breweries and pubs to sit at the bar and engage in conversations, even just being able to use a restroom during a long drive were all off the table – and mostly still are – as is my plan to drive Route 66. I could have thrown in the towel and maximized use of our Netflix subscription while slowly becoming part of the couch but I chose to make the most of what I could do.    

      For me that consisted of sticking to my workouts and getting outside on my bike or hitting the disc golf courses in the area as much as the weather would allow. Of course, doing all those things alone has gotten old over the last year, but at least I can get out, and I am very thankful for my riding buddy as we push each other to do more miles on our rides and enjoy just doing something we like with another person. Softball is back this year and the season starts tomorrow – a little bit of normal, finally! While those things are primarily focused on the physical being, they also help mentally. That last part is key to growth in retirement.

      It’s great to rest your brain for a bit after all those years of working but letting that go on too long is going to have major consequences to your health and wellbeing. By not engaging in activities to stimulate your brain, you’re missing out on potential opportunities to re-invent yourself in retirement, and you are allowing that vital muscle to deteriorate which can cause premature aging and sap your ability to enjoy what you worked so hard for.

       With a lot of time on my hands as winter set in I dove into my reading list that had been neglected for so long and thanks to a few of those books (thanks again Mr. Peart!) I was inspired to start this blog. Not only is it an opportunity for me to share thoughts and insights, it is my way of stretching my brain as I’d never done other than business writing before taking the plunge into Blog-land. Part of the draw was to learn how to get a website, create the actual site, maintain and grow it, and to decipher what the heck SEO meant. All of those were new skills I had to acquire and thankfully there are plenty of web-based resources and classes. I also contacted friends who have a strong web presence for their businesses and got a lot of advice. Double bonus here as I was interacting with friends and learning new stuff at the same time!

       Another activity recently taken up has been doing word search puzzles with my wife. She suggested it when cabin-fever set in from the initial lockdowns as something we could do together, with drinks, to kill some time and keep our brains active. It’s become a bit of a competition to see who can find the most words in each puzzle and provides us with time together not in front of a computer or TV screen. Yeah, it’s simple and a bit corny, but it’s fun, and gives us time together actively interacting and working our brains a bit.

      As we live longer and retirement morphs from an end in itself to an opportunity for renewed growth and learning, it’s more important than ever to be both physically and mentally active. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it stretches your brain; the key to mental acuity and health as we age. You’ve retired but don’t let your brain retire.

      For more on your brain in retirement check out this link to an article and TED Talk video:  https://ideas.ted.com/think-retirement-is-smooth-sailing-a-look-at-its-potential-effects-on-the-brain/?   (the link still works!)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com  05-05-2025