How To Reinvent Yourself At 60: Tips For You

As you reach your 60s, it is natural to look back and think about the last six decades. Moreover, you could be having health, financial, career, and emotional changes to handle. It is time that you begin to question; is reinventing yourself after 60 possible? 

For so long, you have been busy building your career, making your home, looking after children, so on and so forth. And in the long run shelving your dreams, putting your passions on the back burner, and placing your health somewhere beyond that. The 60s give you a chance to regain all that. 

Sixty is easily the new forty. With medical advancements, health and financial awareness, assistive devices like step stools and products making aging in place more manageable, the ‘brigade sixty’ can now enjoy life with better financial security, be healthier and live longer than their parents and grandparents. 

Life in the 60s is a point where you can again decide how to spend your life ahead! Retirement is on the horizon, and the family responsibilities are not as overbearing now as before. It’s time to rediscover yourself and live life the way you have always wanted to. Reinventing yourself after 60 can be a productive, fruitful, and satiating experience. Here are a few tips on how you can reinvent yourself in your 60s.

REINVENT YOURSELF SOCIALLY:

Research proves that there is a multitude of benefits attached to staying social. The national institute of aging links social isolation and loneliness to an increased risk of hypertension, obesity, cognitive decline, etc. The study also states that ‘brigade sixty’ is 12% less likely to develop dementia when visiting friends daily. 

• Strengthen Blood Bonds: 

Strengthen your relationships with family and extended family. They have been there for the longest, and reliving the fun times you have had with them can be most refreshing. 

• Get Busy Socializing: 

Also, try to increase your social circle. Make new friends, meet people with similar interests, join clubs and neighborhood committees, volunteer for activities that attract you. These are a few of the ways that help you reinvent yourself socially. 

• Befriend Technology: 

Reinventing yourself after 60 need not be a challenge if you have mobility issues. Become tech-savvy. Invest in a phone, a laptop, and the internet. You will find it amazing how social networking sites and texting can be a networking boon. You can also invest in tools like step stools for bed or bathtub to make your daily life easier. 

REINVENT YOURSELF MENTALLY: 

According to WHO, approximately 15% of adults over 60 have mental issues. Such disorders account for 6.6% of the total disability for this group. Reduced mobility, grief, chronic pain, retirement, and drop-in socio-economic status ensuing from retirement or varied health problems can cause depression or other psychological issues. Hence it is essential to take care of your mental health and wellbeing. One of the best ways of reinventing yourself after 60 is to keep yourself mentally alert and keep the grey cells active. Indulge in activities that give you mental stimulation, meditate, keep journals, and more.

HERE’S HOW:

• Play: 

Play as much as you can. Play games that are mentally stimulating like chess, crosswords, sudoku, and puzzles. Card games like bridge offer various advantages. 

• Go Back to Learning: 

Learn something new. Go back in time and think about what you wanted to learn then but didn’t have the time for it. Pick it up now. Be it salsa, piano, or pottery, don’t hesitate; go for it!

• Take Up a Course: 

Take up a course of that hobby you gave up then. It’s time now to pick it up again or expand it. Learn a new language or perhaps some subject that interests you. Remember, there is no age for learning. 

• Make Good Use of Time: 

Consume educative content. Keep updating yourself. Choose news, informative articles, or anything that piques your interest while reading, watching, or browsing. Have meaningful discussions with friends with valid inputs from you. 

• Work On Your Memory: 

Instead of relying on lists, try to memorize small lists. Create associations or visual techniques for things you want to remember. Researchers believe that a weak memory is lifestyle-related and not an untreatable disease. 

• Travel: 

Traveling helps your mental health and develops your social skills. You meet new people, learn about new cultures and new places. You could travel for various reasons; it could be for sightseeing, just basking in the sun, jungle safaris, or you could be a food tourist or a medical tourist. Whatever the reason, you are sure to come back from the trip more enriched and relaxed. 

REINVENT YOURSELF PHYSICALLY:

It’s a known fact that physical activity is beneficial for all age groups. Life in your 60s can be more comfortable when you also reinvent yourself physically. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that regular physical activity can alert your thinking, learning, and judgment skills. It can also reduce the risk of depression and anxiety. Staying physically active helps in weight management, reduces risks to health, strengthens bones and muscles, helps manage mobility issues, and increases your life expectancy. 

• Develop An Active Lifestyle: 

Regular exercise, indoor/outdoor activities for seniors is beneficial both to the body and the mind. With the consultation of your physician, you can design activity programs keeping your medical and mobility issues in mind. Walking, swimming, aerobics, cycling, hiking, chair yoga for seniors, or any other form of exercise should be a part of your routine. Keeping yourself active can be the solution to most of the problems that you may face. 

• Develop A Healthy Lifestyle: 

Not just exercise but even what you eat, when you eat, and how you eat matters. Try to avoid health-endangering habits like alcohol abuse, smoking, junk food, and a sedentary lifestyle. Reduce the intake of instant foods, red meat, and increase water, vegetables, and fruits. Don’t forget your vitamins and food supplements. 

• Regular Check-Ups: 

Be in constant touch with your medical caregiver. Take regular stipulated tests, either annually or bi-annually, as your physician deems fit. 

• Get Adequate Rest: 

If a physical activity like balance exercises for seniors is the first step towards reinventing yourself after 60, the second should be ample rest. Stay tuned to your body and slow down when it demands. Set a sleep pattern. Confirm that you are getting the minimum hours and good quality of sleep. But if you are showing signs of poor sleep quality or undergoing sleep deprivation, don’t overlook it. Contact your physician and investigate the cause of sleeping disorders.

REINVENT YOURSELF SPIRITUALLY:

Everyone has their spiritual calling, and now you have the time to follow it. Attach yourself to the neighborhood spiritual establishments or public organizations and offer voluntary services. Giving back to society draws a certain amount of satisfaction that can be fulfilling. 

REINVENT YOURSELF EMOTIONALLY: 

Life in your 60s can be an emotional roller coaster. Physical and social changes, retirement, and loneliness can take their toll on your emotional health. The need to bond emotionally to fulfill emotional cravings is stronger than ever. Here is how you can reinvent yourself emotionally:

• Stay emotionally connected to family and friends and visit them often.
• Keep reminders of birthdays and other special days and make it a point to wish them. 
• Celebrate special occasions with your kids.
• Get a pet. Loving an animal takes care of your emotional needs.   

REINVENT YOURSELF FINANCIALLY:

Compared to the seniors of a few decades ago, life expectancy has seen an upward climb. You can be working well into your 60s and 70s. As today’s jobs require less strenuous work, more and more men and women in their sixties are still working beyond their traditional retirement age. Working past retirement has been linked to financial independence and positively affects health, longevity, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. 

If finding employment is a lofty goal, then you can:

• Earn money from your hobby
• Take up a course to further your forte
• Start a small business, or 
• An online affiliate business. 

You can also:

• Invest judiciously
• Buy health insurance
• Avoid debts
• Get tax-efficient and 
• Monitor and manage your resources

Love and be kind to yourself. Life after the 60s can be a most pleasant phase with new memories built and fulfilling experiences. It can be safely called the second inning of your life, which can be most enjoyable if played right! Instead of complaining about the changes in your life after 60, it is a time to feel privileged! Life can begin at 60 with a newer you, more superior, fitter, and happier. Setting real-time goals and taking steps towards them, and continuous reassessment will make life in your 60s easy and comfortable.