The phrase ‘golden years’ refers to the advanced period of one’s life that falls between 60 to 80+ age-group. It’s the span of a lifetime that allows you to reconnect with yourself, to aspire and spread your wings yet again. It comes with the perks of spending quality time with family and seeing children and grandchildren grow up. A time of relaxation, self-fulfilments, and freedom that comes with retirement. Part of that freedom is the willingness to accept help from family, friends, the community, and even elder care services when it’s needed. Since this life span involves many positive elements such as life satisfaction, contentment, new prospects, and fewer responsibilities, it is called the ‘golden years’ of one’s life.
Are the Golden Years really golden? Facts & Myths
For many, the dream of golden years is the freedom to live out the rest of their lives in leisure activities. It could be traveling to places you have been long wanting to, gardening, cooking, writing, learning new things, or doing anything that makes one feel alive and happy. Embracing life with contentment and happiness holds only for a segment of the elderly population. For many others, the grim realities of aging get in the way through physical, emotional, and cognitive limitations. The dream of golden years gets a rude awakening when:
- Life takes the slow lane, after having all goals fulfilled, and no other meaningful goal to strive for
- There is a tussle between the mind and the body as both are not aligned
- Family, friend, or elder care services support needed for activities of daily living
- Fear of death, disease, frailty, and stress mount up every passing day
A constellation of factors comes into play in the path to happy and healthy aging, according to various studies(Link). Physical and mental health, financial status, social security influence how people age in divergent paths. Of these, health (physiological and psychological) is the most important because it is the foundation of the golden years.
‘Those could be the best days….’
While aging brings its physical and emotional challenges, it can also inspire the elderly to enjoy their golden years to the fullest. In the psychological realm, it offers possibilities for self-fulfillment and enhances emotional experiences. For later years to be golden years, it requires conditioning of mindset…
- It’s time to start living unfulfilled dreams after nurturing kids toward their career path
- Do not feel guilty for making lives easy for yourselves. Your life has been an inspiration to the younger generation
- Do not take on worries of the world…Chill should be the pill
- Health issues are bound to happen but a happy heart and peaceful mind can handle it far better
- You owe it to yourself to take the best care of your body and mind, especially when you are done with your duties and responsibilities
- Don’t find reasons to worry…find a reason not to worry
