Sunday 18 August 2013

Is retirement what people really want?

Many people with young age want early retirement while the elders want to keep working as long as possible. Why?

Can retirement be bad for your health? (Photo: iStockphoto)

According to “Can Retirement kill you?”, Dr. Harry Prosen, an 83 year old man, is working as head of psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and has no plans to retire because it is bad for his health, while the average age of retirement is between 60-75 years old. After retirement people don’t have thing to do much which make them suffering from depression, mental conditions, and having health problems.

This story reminds me of my grandfather who is 86 years old living healthy lifestyle and very strong. He goes for a walk every day for exercise. When it has a marathon charity he always joins and has fun, normally he walks around 6 km for each charity. Now, he retired from his work for along time, but he became a stock market player. When he analyses and considers stock market which let him use and practice his brain that make him far away from brain condition. Many elders retried and don’t have anything to do, so it tends to make these people brain go down. The elders might have brain problems from small condition to large condition, for example, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Amnesia and so on. I saw many elders who stay home and have nothing to do tend to have brain problems, and the length to live their life is shorter than elders who have activities to do like my grandfather. 

Exercise is another solution to get away from any disease. Exercise makes you stronger, healthier, get in shape, and also make your mind relaxing while you work out. I am a member of one fitness club, when I go there I usually see many elders and housewives working out and do yoga. These people spend almost the day (between 10am - 4pm) here because they have group of people who have the same lifestyle.  In the group, there are variety of nationality likes Thai, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnam. So that they can share anything like how is their children school like?, the tips of cooking, healthy recipes for their children, how can get in shape after give birth and so on. I heard these things while I'm working out at my gym.
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Reference
Borzykowski, B. (2013, August 14). Can Retirement kill you?. BBC Capital. Retrieved August 18, 2013 from http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20130813-the-dark-side-of-the-golden-years

3 comments:

  1. I had seen this article and found it interesting, so I'm glad that Ploy has chosen to blog it.

    When I was growing up, I remember people looking forward to retirement, but my father did not think that way. He was, on the contrary, like the people Ploy describes at her health club and her own father: he remained active in his work and other commitments, serving on boards of several companies and community organizations, and continuing not just to manage but also actually to work on the family farms. His last day alive was spent also in contact with his grandchildren, for whose future he was working and in whose lives, worries and successes he was always interested, even if some of his comments were not what they wanted to hear: if he thought someone was being stupid, he was inclined to say that. I am sure this helped him to keep living happily and usefully until he died suddenly one morning. A good death after a flourishing life. The day before, he had been on a tractor in the fields and attending meetings. I think it was a good death following a life well lived. Had he retired as so many wish to, what meaning would his life have had? I think not much, and that would have killed him much sooner than his death at the age of 81. When I went back for his funeral, the local priest was a bit upset with my eulogy, which pointed out that he did not need any heavens, afterlife or other superstitions to have lived a meaningful and good life. The relatives were more appreciative than the priest, although my mother was a bit annoyed that I hadn't said the expected nonsense about god and such like, even though she doesn't believe it either - perhaps she thought it would damage her re-election as president of her clubs.

    Why do people think that ceasing work at some arbitrary age is a thing to desire? If work is so awful, perhaps that's a good reason to try something new. My father had had experience as an employee, but for most of his life, he was an employer and did his best at things he thought worthwhile, without worrying too much about what others thought of his decisions.

    My mother is a bit different. She stopped work and gave up a career when she married almost 60 years ago, but she, too, has remained active in her commitments, especially the competition to be president of her clubs, the local schools her grandchildren attend and her church. At 83, she remains in good health, much to the annoyance of some of my brothers and sisters, and I suspect a few other people.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmm ....

    Do you think that there is a problem in the first sentence of Ploy's second paragraph?

    This question is related to the grammar, but it is not a proofreading question about whether the grammar is right or wrong. In fact, the grammar in Ploy's sentence is perfect, so don't go looking for grammar mistakes in that sentence.

    What do you think the problem is? And your suggested solution?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or am I wrong and there is really no problem in that sentence?

      Delete

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