“Seniors are people at least ten years older than me.” – Rick Perkins

I generally advise people to hang out with others who are younger, smarter and wealthier.  This sometimes contradicts my advice to help out people who are less fortunate.  When I help a group of “seniors”, some are wealthier and many are smarter but they are all older than me.

I want to live a very long life.  I enjoy life and of course, there is always something to fix.  I figure the best way to learn about life as a senior citizen is to visit with people who are already there.  “My seniors” think I’m visiting to help them with a myriad of minor, everyday problems.  I certainly do that but I’m also observing to collect information that will hopefully be beneficial to me in my “Golden Years”.

There is nothing surprising about what I have learned so far but a reminder to all of us could be helpful.

1.  HEALTH  If you expect to enjoy life as a senior, make sure you are taking care of your body now.  Exercise, eat right, sleep and keep your mind active and don’t ignore your body when it needs attention.

2.  WEALTH  We all know that having money makes life easier.  This is even more apparent when you reach an age where you need to hire people to do things you once did for yourself.  Money can define the quality of your physical life, where you live and the level of your healthcare.  So save up!  If you don’t really need it, don’t buy it.  Save and invest your money to ensure a better retirement.

3. ATTITUDE  It is starkly obvious once again how much attitude affects the quality of life.  The people who are grateful for every day they wake up, for every sunrise, every visitor and every daily challenge are so much happier than the whiners, haters and overall negative thinking seniors.  I’ve heard people say that your bad traits become more prominent the older you get.  A sure way to become a lonely, ignored and miserable senior is to act like a hateful, complaining, poor-me, grumpy old person.  Unless you plan to do something about it, ignore the negative news of the day.  Help someone less fortunate.  Gossip, whining and complaining about the way others live their lives is a great start toward life as a lonely depressed senior.  An activity that seems to lift everyone’s spirits: teach young people how to do something you are passionate about.  Drawing, painting, playing a musical instrument, woodworking, knitting, whistling or storytelling.  Schools have cut back on so much on the fine arts that some kids are amazed at what a senior can do and are willing to give up their electronic devices for a while to learn these hidden talents.

If you want to enjoy a long life, you must prepare for it and definitely not depend on someone else to make you comfortable and happy.  Read through my other posts for more tips and feel free to share your own in the comments.