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New Choices Make a New Life – Setting Goals for 2018
By LuRae Lumpkin
It’s that time of year again. Set goals not resolutions. History shows that resolutions are made to be broken, but goals endure and give you a dream to focus on.
Before the new year begins, decide what you want. By setting goals, you shape your future in advance. It’s amazing how many people think about and set new year’s resolutions, yet don’t take the time to stop and think about what they want for themselves in the new year.
Goals allow us to grow and expand while drawing us to success. A Yale study of the graduating class of 1953 who set goals showed that 20 years later, the 3% who set and stayed focused on their goals, were the happiest, most fulfilled and financially successful individuals within their graduating class.
Why do goals work and how can you effectively set them for yourself? Follow these tried and true steps to achieve anything you want in your life.
Focus
Goals require consistent focus. When you focus on something you want to have, be or experience; you must focus on that goal. Write it down, read it morning, noon and night. Write your key goals on index cards and review them throughout the day when you take a break. This keeps them in the forefront of your consciousness.
Visualize
Make your goals so real that it feels like you already have them. Take time to visualize what it feels like having the relationship, the freedom or money to travel where you want, when you want; or whatever your goals are. Take a few minutes to shut your eyes and emotionally feel the satisfaction of having whatever those important things are that light you up.
Take Action
Dreaming without action is only a wish. In order to achieve your goals you must be crystal clear on what you want, visualize achieving your goals, and be so motivated that you’ll do whatever it takes to stay in action toward what you want.
I like to break goal setting into categories. A good way to go about setting goals in each important area of your life is to set these TYPES OF GOALS:
Financial Goals
Thing Goals
Spiritual Goals
Relationship Goals
Physical Goals
Experiences Goals
Doing Good Goals
Financial Goals
Financial goals are obvious, but it’s wise to set short-term and long-term financial goals. Maybe there’s something you’re wanting to get but haven’t set a clear path to get it. By writing down what you envision and want for yourself in both the short and long-term, you’ll have a roadmap to get there.
It’s also a good idea to look back on spending patterns of the past year as you go into the next 12 months. You may be surprised when you break your spending down into categories of groceries, utilities, clothing, Starbucks – oh, yeah Starbucks. You may be surprised to see where money goes if you don’t watch where you’re spending it diligently.
Thing Goals
We all have ‘things’ that we’d like to get or have. Many times they can be simple, yet unless we prioritize them, they likely won’t become a priority. For myself, I’ve been saying that I want to get both an Indian Flute and a Tenor Saxophone. One I naturally can play just by putting the instrument to my mouth. The other I took lessons for years and love to play as well.
I recently bought a twirling baton. As a former majorette for the marching band in high school and college, it’s one of those things from my youth that conjures up good, happy memories. The great thing is that it’s great exercise and I still twirl like I did in college and high school.
What are those things that make your heart sing? I’m sure you’ve got some simple things that make you happy just at the thought of putting them on your ‘things’ list. It could be painting, drawing, sewing, wood carving, music, or myriad things. Dream and let yourself play like you did as a child. It’s what keeps us in touch with our youth.
Spiritual Goals
The reality is, in my belief system, I’m a spiritual being having a physical experience. Staying in alignment with my higher self, and my higher power or God as I call it; is vital to my happiness and feeling grounded.
I’ve started a ritual of listening to guided meditations daily on an amazing free app called Insight Timer. I listen to a guided relaxation meditation every night as I fall asleep and frequently listen to a positive affirmation meditation upon waking. This quiet and sacred space allows me to explore different parts of my spirituality and awareness, while learning new things from other highly spiritual people.
Setting an intention to stay grounded, humble, and connected to myself and my higher power through conscious prayer and meditation is necessary in the hustle and distractions of life.
Relationship Goals
Goals for your relationships can cover everything from family to friends, spouse, lover or significant other; children, co-workers, and everything in between. I look at my life like a series of circles, with those closest to me in the inner ring.
I set conscious goals to have healthy, loving, authentic relationships with those closest to me, whomever those people may be. This involves making commitments to spend time and to keep communication open. Also it provides for me to express my feelings authentically, and give of myself in ways that are meaningful to them.
Goals for other relationships in our lives outside that closest inner circle can include friends, special people who have a special place in our lives, and anyone else who is closer than a co-worker or associate; yet not as close as a spouse or best friend.
The important thing to remember about relationships is that they are like flowers or a plant, if you ignore them they will dry or wither and die. Watering them with attention, care and love ensures that those relationships that fuel our lives, are healthy and nurturing to the other parts of our lives.
Physical Goals
It was easy to take physical goals for granted earlier in life. While I’ve always been athletic, making an effort to think and take steps proactively to ensure I am focused on physical vitality and health is more important than ever.
I set fitness goals for the number of times I will physically exercise whether it’s the gym or yoga, per week. Setting an every other day goal seems doable and not overwhelming with my busy schedule. Just as people who set new years resolutions to ‘work out every day,’ tend to break their ‘resolution’ within days of setting it; I’m more comfortable setting a goal that is achievable without feeling it’s pushing me over the edge.
I also set nutrition goals within my physical goals. I am well aware that muscle retention is an area that anyone 45 and over must be conscious of. And so, I’ve incorporated BCAAs into my daily nutrition ritual because they add a muscle retention component along with amino acids into my nutrition regimen. I also use vegetable protein and a scoop of green nutrition in a morning smoothie every day. This ensures that I’m getting nutrition and not just calories.
Experience Goals
I’m big into ‘experiences’ over things. I’ve traveled to and have lived in many of the places I envisioned visiting, when growing up. Last year I spent almost a month working and living in Barbados mid-February to mid-March. I also spent time in Southern California, Florida, New York City, and in more spiritual places like Sedona, AZ. Time was even spent time in rustic places like Strawberry and Pine, AZ.
I like to set goals toward visiting places I’ve not been that are inspirational for me to dream about. I’m a big frequent flyer mile person, and a smart traveler. I have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles throughout my career in various parts of the world.
When you set goals for experiences, they can be travel related, or entertainment, event, cooking, or any experience you envision as a fulfilling and rewarding experience you would like to have in the coming year.
Doing Good Goals
We all have a need to give back or contribute to something bigger than ourselves. The intrinsic value and reward that we feel in giving to others far surpasses whatever energy or time you may give of yourself.
I started proactively giving back in several ways years ago. Today the more meaningful ways that I choose to give back involve being a teen leader at my spiritual place of worship. I spent a good part of the year last year giving of my time every weekend. I loved on the babies in the nursery, with my little 9-year old granddaughter. She’s a baby lover, so it didn’t take much to get me engaged and on board.
The best part of that experience is that while I gave parents a break to be together and experience an adult experience of worshiping together, I got to give the little cherubs back at the end of the service. When the rules were changed for the age allowed in the nursery, and my little granddaughter was no longer able to serve. Thus it was an easy transition for me to shift to the older teens.
Giving back in ways that value others is one of the most rewarding things I do every day and every week. I’m also a part of the prayer team at my spiritual place of worship. I’ve had the honor of praying with many people and being touched by their trust in me being with them in a sacred space to call upon a higher power to work in their lives.
Even if you’re not sure what your ‘doing good’ goals should or could be, as long as you’re open to discovering them, the Universe will conspire to help you.
As you go into 2018, I encourage you to have goals and dreams that you are shooting for. Regardless of our age or place in life, there are things that we can strive for and achieve at any age and any place in life. The only limits are the ones we place on ourselves. Here’s to your best year yet!
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#career#happiness#health#lifestyle#longevity#mentalhealth#nutrition#recreation#Relationships#weekend#wellness#women
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Boomers' Favorite Travels Destinations This Year
What we our favorite travel destinations this year? One of the largest and growing demographics in the travel world, according to Emirates data, Baby Boomers are opting to travel on average two trips a year that spanned 20 days.
The absolute favorite destination is London, while Rome, Paris and Dublin followed closely behind.
Europe is a natural fit for this, offering Boomer travellers the opportunity to explore some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, immerse themselves in different cultures or go on a new adventure.
Emirates have since expanded their networks to include more Boomers travel European destinations such as Madrid, to appeal to the Baby Boomer's adventurous spirit.
Here are the top destinations for Baby Boomers according to Emirates:
London
Rome
Paris
Dublin
Athens
Barcelona
Manchester
Amsterdam
Milan
Frankfurt
What's your favorite destination of 2017? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Babyboomer Entrepreneurs Are Winning. Are You?
What are you doing in your second act, Babyboomers? Millennials seem to be getting a lot of buzz for their savviness and startup success. While there certainly is some truth to this, that does not mean that other generations are not starting businesses; we are. In fact it is actually Babyboomer entrepreneurs who are making their mark.
Boomers are twice as likely as Millennials to be planning to start a new business. The foundation also found in their 2016 Startup Index that 24.3% of all new entrepreneurs fall between the ages of 55 and 64. What is significant about these numbers is that the Millennial percentage has been steadily declining. The Boomer percentage has been quickly increasing.
All of this is to say that when it comes to Boomers starting businesses, the odds are greatly in their favor. This is excellent news. There are a lot of reasons for the increased number of older entrepreneurs, but one of the most prominent is this ever-shifting, and now dynamic economy. Things have changed a lot since the No-So-Great Recession. These include the rise of the gig economy and people working multiple jobs. These also include college graduates living with their parents, and working past the retirement age.
One reason for this has to do with economic necessity. Not a few Boomers lost their retirements in the recession and as a result, they have been forced to work longer than they ever anticipated.
Why the rise in Babyboomer entrepreneurs?:
► The mobile revolution. People can now start a business from almost anywhere using the Internet. This allows them the opportunity to "retire" near the kids, or beach, or wherever, and still start and run a business.
► Low cost of entry: It is cheaper and easier than ever before to launch a business.
► Help: Between AARP, the SBA, SCORE, and tons of websites, there is more startup help than ever for Babyboomer entrepreneurs.
And yet, despite all that, the question still persists: Why older entrepreneurs? What do they have that younger people don't?
One word: Experience
Individuals closer to retirement age have had plenty of jobs to know what works and what doesn’t. This type of insight can work wonders when it comes to starting one's own business. So much of the startup process is a matter of risk-taking and chance, but the more experience one has, and the more educated a guess you can make, the less you are leaving things to chance; the less risk you are taking.
Additionally, people closer to retirement age have typically had a lot more experience handling their finances – budgeting, saving, investing, etc. This is also a huge factor when it comes startup success. They may also have a larger network of people for acquiring capital, more connections, etc. This type of real-life experience and network makes a material difference in the entrepreneurial world, and, the truth is, a lot of Millennials just haven't lived long enough to attain that yet.
Finally, despite the aforementioned economic considerations, it turns out that Babyboomer entrepreneurs are trending for another reason – lifestyle choice. It turns out that most babyboomers have started businesses for lifestyle reasons rather than financial ones. Thus, if your desire to start your own business is not stemming from an economic need but an entrepreneurial desire, know that you are in great company.
Bottom line: If you're an older small business owner, don't let the ultra-hip, tech savvy Millennials intimidate you. Remember, numbers show it's Boomers who run the entrepreneurial world.
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Babyboomer Entrepreneurs Are Winning. Are You?
What are you doing in your second act, Babyboomers? Millennials seem to be getting a lot of buzz for their savviness and startup success. While there certainly is some truth to this, that does not mean that other generations are not starting businesses; we are. In fact it is actually Babyboomer entrepreneurs who are making their mark.
Boomers are twice as likely as Millennials to be planning to start a new business. The foundation also found in their 2016 Startup Index that 24.3% of all new entrepreneurs fall between the ages of 55 and 64. What is significant about these numbers is that the Millennial percentage has been steadily declining. The Boomer percentage has been quickly increasing.
All of this is to say that when it comes to Boomers starting businesses, the odds are greatly in their favor. This is excellent news. There are a lot of reasons for the increased number of older entrepreneurs, but one of the most prominent is this ever-shifting, and now dynamic economy. Things have changed a lot since the No-So-Great Recession. These include the rise of the gig economy and people working multiple jobs. These also include college graduates living with their parents, and working past the retirement age.
One reason for this has to do with economic necessity. Not a few Boomers lost their retirements in the recession and as a result, they have been forced to work longer than they ever anticipated.
Why the rise in Babyboomer entrepreneurs?:
► The mobile revolution. People can now start a business from almost anywhere using the Internet. This allows them the opportunity to "retire" near the kids, or beach, or wherever, and still start and run a business.
► Low cost of entry: It is cheaper and easier than ever before to launch a business.
► Help: Between AARP, the SBA, SCORE, and tons of websites, there is more startup help than ever for Babyboomer entrepreneurs.
And yet, despite all that, the question still persists: Why older entrepreneurs? What do they have that younger people don't?
One word: Experience
Individuals closer to retirement age have had plenty of jobs to know what works and what doesn’t. This type of insight can work wonders when it comes to starting one's own business. So much of the startup process is a matter of risk-taking and chance, but the more experience one has, and the more educated a guess you can make, the less you are leaving things to chance; the less risk you are taking.
Additionally, people closer to retirement age have typically had a lot more experience handling their finances – budgeting, saving, investing, etc. This is also a huge factor when it comes startup success. They may also have a larger network of people for acquiring capital, more connections, etc. This type of real-life experience and network makes a material difference in the entrepreneurial world, and, the truth is, a lot of Millennials just haven't lived long enough to attain that yet.
Finally, despite the aforementioned economic considerations, it turns out that Babyboomer entrepreneurs are trending for another reason – lifestyle choice. It turns out that most babyboomers have started businesses for lifestyle reasons rather than financial ones. Thus, if your desire to start your own business is not stemming from an economic need but an entrepreneurial desire, know that you are in great company.
Bottom line: If you're an older small business owner, don't let the ultra-hip, tech savvy Millennials intimidate you. Remember, numbers show it's Boomers who run the entrepreneurial world.
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Babyboomer Women: Aging Alone
Many Babyboomer women I know are increasingly getting divorced from their spouses later in life -- and many of those are not re-marrying. Many other Baby Boomer women I know are outliving their spouses, and similarly are not re-marrying. Some other women I know have either never been married. Thus women are spending less and less of their adult years married than ever before, and more are facing their over 50 years more and more living alone.
Women’s lifespans are also longer considerably longer than men. How are Boomer woman spending their extra years post marriage into their 70’s and beyond? How are Boomer women affording health care over the long term?
How are Babyboomer women handling the loneliness? The security issues of being alone?
Several women I know regularly make plans with their single friends. Many don't have children, so they are in the same situation as you. Some other 60-something women friends I know got apartments next door to each other. Or perhaps you could let a friend move into your empty-nest second bedroom and share costs. This sort of arrangement can address the issues of loneliness and security, as well as someone to be there in case of emergency.
Babyboomer women who are single -- what are some of your solutions? How are you dealing with this?
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Babyboomer Women: Aging Alone
Many Babyboomer women I know are increasingly getting divorced from their spouses later in life -- and many of those are not re-marrying. Many other Baby Boomer women I know are outliving their spouses, and similarly are not re-marrying. Some other women I know have either never been married. Thus women are spending less and less of their adult years married than ever before, and more are facing their over 50 years more and more living alone.
Women’s lifespans are also longer considerably longer than men. How are Boomer woman spending their extra years post marriage into their 70’s and beyond? How are Boomer women affording health care over the long term?
How are Babyboomer women handling the loneliness? The security issues of being alone?
Several women I know regularly make plans with their single friends. Many don't have children, so they are in the same situation as you. Some other 60-something women friends I know got apartments next door to each other. Or perhaps you could let a friend move into your empty-nest second bedroom and share costs. This sort of arrangement can address the issues of loneliness and security, as well as someone to be there in case of emergency.
Babyboomer women who are single -- what are some of your solutions? How are you dealing with this?
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The Miracle Beyond This Horrible Week
Ok, so this has been on of the worst weeks of this year. It’s perhaps even the worst week of our still-new presidency. A lot of my friends and associates are depressed, despondent, unsure of what to do or where to turn next. It does't matter where you stand politically, whether Republican or Democrat or Independent. When the President openly defends Nazis and white supremacists, it can make you feel like things are falling apart and that your world is coming crashing down on you. We’re left searching for a miracle which can change the course of things dramatically.
In times like this, I find that the only thing to do is to turn inward, to practice intense self-care. Take time to breath and be good to yourself. I have never been the sort of person to seek help externally, from self-help gurus, philosophers and the like, I am a skeptic at heart. However, I found myself at this Marianne Williamson talk a few nights ago in NYC, and I found her take on the status quo, while not exactly a miracle, both helpful and uniquely interesting, and I thought it might help some if you, so here I am sharing it with with you.
https://youtu.be/ehmtRo6DVt4
Who’s Marianne Williamson?
In case you don’t know Marianne Williamson is, she is a spiritual teacher, author and lecturer. Marianne has been a guest on television programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Charlie Rose and Real Time with Bill Maher. In December 2006, a Newsweek magazine poll named her one of the fifty most influential baby boomers. Williamson bases her teaching and writing on a set of books called A Course in Miracles, a self-study program of spiritual psychotherapy, based on universal spiritual themes. A quote from her book A Return to Love, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure," is one of the most oft-quoted passages of our time.
To me, Marianne here speaks what I often find to be insightful truths. And in this lecture from earlier this week in New York, she provides some useful direction. This might help us all in to how to deal with what the world is presenting us. Both with currently with this president, in the U.S., and in the world.
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Baby boomers Wake Up! What Trump Got Wrong In Charlottesville.
Baby boomers, wake up!--is there a President in our US history who would have actually avoided denouncing Nazis and white supremacists like Donald Trump did yesterday?
It's almost impossible to even fathom for us babyboomers. How low have we sunk as a nation. This goes against the grain of the most basic and essential tenets on which this country was born, as well as how it has survived and thrived through over two centuries.
We cannot simply sit back and let this happen. We must show that the vast majority of us Babyboomers and all those over 50 do NOT feel the same as our grotesque monster of a president. We do NOT agree that bigotry should be above condemnation.
More here in today's New York Times link below about Trump's reaction to the violence in Charlottesville Virginia yesterday.
New York Times
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Baby Boomer Generation - Are we REALLY In Such A Bad Mood?
Baby Boomer Generation - Are we REALLY In Such A Bad Mood?
Did any of you catch last week’s New York Times feature “Why Are The Boomers In Such A Bad Mood”? Well, I read it, my opinion has certainly evolved since my post on us being pessimistic weeks ago. I have to say I just DON’T agree -- and many of my baby boomer generation friends don’t agree. We Baby Boomers are NOT in a bad mood, despite being despised. I think we are beneath the negative lies envy -- we have actually accomplished a lot with our lives. And we don’t really care that culture now ignores us. We INVENTED modern culture. And what passes for culture today is mostly garbage. I understand why the film and music industries ignore us -- we are not an active ‘growth’ market. But those who do pay attention are rewarded GREATLY! And we are the generation of self-actualization, we do not need anyone to tell us how to be happy, we are resourceful and as such completely understand how to find our own happiness and our own unique path in this life. We march to the beat of our own drum, forge our own path.
An excerpt here from the NY Times story about the Baby Boomer generation...let me know what you think?
"To those of us in it, the new middle age in America is the most despised age ever, right up there with “stillborn” and “dead.” No lovely, leafy glade — just a hazy, terrifying landscape of creepy cleavage, popping veins, bifocals and sagging breasts strewn across a lifeless vista. (And the one for women is just as bad.) This new middle age does not describe the lithe, the sexual, the hip or the cool — especially hard on baby boomers, the actual inventors (see above) of both “hip” and “cool.””
Continue reading “Why Are Boomers In Such A Bad Mood"
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Baby boomers Wake Up! Baby boomers, is there a President in our US history who would have actually avoided denouncing Nazis and white supremacists like this?
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Why Are Babyboomers Not Having Their Teen Millennial Children Work?
Why are Babyboomers not having their millennial teen children work as much in the past.
So, why are Babyboomers not having their millennial teen children work? Why is that the case? We Babyboomers certainly worked from a very young age, and I think we believe that should do the same.
A friend of mine mentioned and as being responsible, while my mom complains that our youth are lazy, spoiled, immature, and self-centered kids who would rather play video games than earn a few bucks for spending money. I don’t think either is true.
Let start with demographics. Babyboomers are not retiring by 65 so much anymore. Thirty-two percent of Americans 65 to 69 are still employed, the highest level in 55 years. Many older workers are holding the jobs formerly filled by teens, and that number is only expected to rise in the next 5 years.
But Babyboomers aren’t the only guilty party. To make ends meet, 20-something Millennials are taking many of the traditionally reserved for teens. Fifty-one percent of Millennials, a 10 percent increase since 2013, are underemployed. Forty-four percent of Millennial college grads are stuck in low-wage, dead-end jobs, typically a first job for teens. Here’s an example from personal experience: my teenage daughter is working this summer at a community center teaching music. Her supervisor is a Millennial teacher. Twenty years ago this teacher’s summer job was filled by a 19-year old college student studying to be a teacher. The same goes for the crew who cleaned up our landscaping. In the 60s and 70s the crew was made of high school and college students. This year the crew was a team of local teachers looking for ways to supplement their income.
But it’s not just demographics and the economy. Education may be partially is to blame too, rather than laziness. Teenagers aren’t just spending more time on the couch exercising their thumbs and playing video games, but rather spending more time in the classroom. Teens are remaining in high school longer, going to college more often, and taking more summer classes. They are attending sport and/or band camps as well as band camps and family vacations. The percent of high school grads enrolled in college has grown has grown by 25 percentage points, which funnily corresponds almost exactly the decline in teenage labor force.
While all these conditions set up compelling if not provocative arguments, the clincher to why millennials teens aren’t working may be simply that employers aren’t hiring them. Why employ an inexperienced teenager when you can hire a college grad desperate to pay off school debt? Why not hire us senior citizens who are experienced, historically more dependable and strapped for cash or emotionally bored with retirement? The rise of low-skill immigration in the last few decades has also created more competition for exactly the sort of jobs that teenagers used to do, like lawn mowers and landscapers, grocery-store cashiers, restaurant servers, and retail salespeople. The number of federally funded summer jobs, where students work temporarily with their local government, has declined too. And while the jury is still out, minimum wage increases—both mandatory and competition-driven—may be pressuring companies to choose between a teen without a work history and a more experienced worker.
So what are your thoughts -- please share with me -- is the loss of summer jobs for millennial teens a good thing or bad?
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Baby Boomer Generation - Are we REALLY In Such A Bad Mood?
Baby Boomer Generation - Are we REALLY In Such A Bad Mood?
Did any of you catch last week’s New York Times feature “Why Are The Boomers In Such A Bad Mood”? Well, I read it, my opinion has certainly evolved since my post on us being pessimistic weeks ago. I have to say I just DON’T agree -- and many of my baby boomer generation friends don’t agree. We Baby Boomers are NOT in a bad mood, despite being despised. I think we are beneath the negative lies envy -- we have actually accomplished a lot with our lives. And we don’t really care that culture now ignores us. We INVENTED modern culture. And what passes for culture today is mostly garbage. I understand why the film and music industries ignore us -- we are not an active ‘growth’ market. But those who do pay attention are rewarded GREATLY! And we are the generation of self-actualization, we do not need anyone to tell us how to be happy, we are resourceful and as such completely understand how to find our own happiness and our own unique path in this life. We march to the beat of our own drum, forge our own path.
An excerpt here from the NY Times story about the Baby Boomer generation...let me know what you think?
"To those of us in it, the new middle age in America is the most despised age ever, right up there with “stillborn” and “dead.” No lovely, leafy glade — just a hazy, terrifying landscape of creepy cleavage, popping veins, bifocals and sagging breasts strewn across a lifeless vista. (And the one for women is just as bad.) This new middle age does not describe the lithe, the sexual, the hip or the cool — especially hard on baby boomers, the actual inventors (see above) of both “hip” and “cool.””
Continue reading “Why Are Boomers In Such A Bad Mood"
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4 Nutrition Tips for for Slowing (or Preventing Aging)
This is the Summer I get my act together! That is a quote from was me from 4 years ago. Age 50 had just crept up on me and my diet was making me feel like I was 90. I had that trademark mental cloudiness that starts to pervade at this age. I got tired every day by 4pm. After doing a lot of reading (see below recommendations) I deduced that more than exercise even, my diet was literally killing me. So I decided to finally get my act together and consciously eat less and much healthier, with the intent of changing my energy, my metabolism, and my health. There are lots of things you can do to slow down the sands of time and age a little slower. A lot of this boils down to the right lifestyle and if you can avoid the sun, get lots of exercise and learn to better handle stress; all these things will keep you looking and feeling younger.
But sometimes it’s even simpler than that. In fact, one of the very best ways to stay young is just to eat right. Eating the right foods can help you to fend off deterioration as well as to fortify yourself against illness and help your body to keep rejuvenating itself.
Let’s take a look at some of the very best nutrition that will help you to stay youthful…
Antioxidants
Most important of all are your antioxidants. These are things like vitamin C which help to combat free radicals in the body. Free radicals are compounds that travel freely around the body and that are reactive when they come into contact with the cell walls. This is bad news, because they can eventually damage the exterior of the cells to the point where they look wrinkled and aged. Worse, they can eventually break through to the DNA and cause mutations that lead to cancer.
Eating lots of antioxidants will keep these to a minimum, thereby reducing the negative effects they have on the body.
Immune Support
Vitamin C also happens to boost the immune system, which means that it can help to fight all manner of illnesses and invading forces that can badly damage your health in older age.
Omega 3 Fatty Acid
Omega 3 fatty acid is very good for keeping your brain young and healthy in older age. That’s because it is able to improve cell membrane permeability, speeding up communication between brain cells.
Better yet, omega 3 is also an antioxidant, protects joints and improves nutrient absorption. It also slows the break down of muscle (which vitamin C also does).
Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and they’re incredibly important for your health – especially as they age. These compounds serve all manner of important roles in the body from forming enzymes to aid digestion to forming neurochemicals. They also act as the raw materials that the body is made from though and that makes them crucial in restoring tissues as we get older including muscle and skin.
There are also three book resources which I keep going back to over and over again with respect to nutrition and anti-aging. These books have provided incredible value, even proved indispensible for me getting my act together on Nutrition in my 50’s:
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4 Nutrition Tips for for Slowing (or Preventing Aging)
This is the Summer I get my act together! That is a quote from was me from 4 years ago. Age 50 had just crept up on me and my diet was making me feel like I was 90. I had that trademark mental cloudiness that starts to pervade at this age. I got tired every day by 4pm. After doing a lot of reading (see below recommendations) I deduced that more than exercise even, my diet was literally killing me. So I decided to finally get my act together and consciously eat less and much healthier, with the intent of changing my energy, my metabolism, and my health. There are lots of things you can do to slow down the sands of time and age a little slower. A lot of this boils down to the right lifestyle and if you can avoid the sun, get lots of exercise and learn to better handle stress; all these things will keep you looking and feeling younger.
But sometimes it’s even simpler than that. In fact, one of the very best ways to stay young is just to eat right. Eating the right foods can help you to fend off deterioration as well as to fortify yourself against illness and help your body to keep rejuvenating itself.
Let’s take a look at some of the very best nutrition that will help you to stay youthful…
Antioxidants
Most important of all are your antioxidants. These are things like vitamin C which help to combat free radicals in the body. Free radicals are compounds that travel freely around the body and that are reactive when they come into contact with the cell walls. This is bad news, because they can eventually damage the exterior of the cells to the point where they look wrinkled and aged. Worse, they can eventually break through to the DNA and cause mutations that lead to cancer.
Eating lots of antioxidants will keep these to a minimum, thereby reducing the negative effects they have on the body.
Immune Support
Vitamin C also happens to boost the immune system, which means that it can help to fight all manner of illnesses and invading forces that can badly damage your health in older age.
Omega 3 Fatty Acid
Omega 3 fatty acid is very good for keeping your brain young and healthy in older age. That’s because it is able to improve cell membrane permeability, speeding up communication between brain cells.
Better yet, omega 3 is also an antioxidant, protects joints and improves nutrient absorption. It also slows the break down of muscle (which vitamin C also does).
Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and they’re incredibly important for your health – especially as they age. These compounds serve all manner of important roles in the body from forming enzymes to aid digestion to forming neurochemicals. They also act as the raw materials that the body is made from though and that makes them crucial in restoring tissues as we get older including muscle and skin.
There are also three book resources which I keep going back to over and over again with respect to nutrition and anti-aging. These books have provided incredible value, even proved indispensible for me getting my act together on Nutrition in my 50’s:
The Anti-Aging Plan: The Nutrient-Rich, Low-Calorie Way of Eating for a Longer Life--The Only Diet Scientifically Proven
Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging: Stay Younger, Live Longer
Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food
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4 Nutrition Tips for for Slowing (or Preventing Aging)
This is the Summer I get my act together! That is a quote from was me from 4 years ago. Age 50 had just crept up on me and my diet was making me feel like I was 90. I had that trademark mental cloudiness that starts to pervade at this age. I got tired every day by 4pm. After doing a lot of reading (see below recommendations) I deduced that more than exercise even, my diet was literally killing me. So I decided to finally get my act together and consciously eat less and much healthier, with the intent of changing my energy, my metabolism, and my health. There are lots of things you can do to slow down the sands of time and age a little slower. A lot of this boils down to the right lifestyle and if you can avoid the sun, get lots of exercise and learn to better handle stress; all these things will keep you looking and feeling younger.
But sometimes it’s even simpler than that. In fact, one of the very best ways to stay young is just to eat right. Eating the right foods can help you to fend off deterioration as well as to fortify yourself against illness and help your body to keep rejuvenating itself.
Let’s take a look at some of the very best nutrition that will help you to stay youthful…
Antioxidants
Most important of all are your antioxidants. These are things like vitamin C which help to combat free radicals in the body. Free radicals are compounds that travel freely around the body and that are reactive when they come into contact with the cell walls. This is bad news, because they can eventually damage the exterior of the cells to the point where they look wrinkled and aged. Worse, they can eventually break through to the DNA and cause mutations that lead to cancer.
Eating lots of antioxidants will keep these to a minimum, thereby reducing the negative effects they have on the body.
Immune Support
Vitamin C also happens to boost the immune system, which means that it can help to fight all manner of illnesses and invading forces that can badly damage your health in older age.
Omega 3 Fatty Acid
Omega 3 fatty acid is very good for keeping your brain young and healthy in older age. That’s because it is able to improve cell membrane permeability, speeding up communication between brain cells.
Better yet, omega 3 is also an antioxidant, protects joints and improves nutrient absorption. It also slows the break down of muscle (which vitamin C also does).
Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and they’re incredibly important for your health – especially as they age. These compounds serve all manner of important roles in the body from forming enzymes to aid digestion to forming neurochemicals. They also act as the raw materials that the body is made from though and that makes them crucial in restoring tissues as we get older including muscle and skin.
There are also three book resources which I keep going back to over and over again with respect to nutrition and anti-aging. These books have provided incredible value, even proved indispensible for me getting my act together on Nutrition in my 50’s:
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Where Has My Generation Disappeared To?
As we are dragged headlong into the daily revelations and thus the misery of this current President’s administration, I am often shocked by how more of us are not speaking out, and as such have become unmoored to the conscience which so trademarked our Baby Boomer generation. Perhaps we are all shocked by the uncharted territory we now find ourselves in. Perhaps we are comfortable, are in our middle ages, and just don’t give a damn. Whatever it is, any observer of history could draw parallels from where we sit now with several other ‘empires’ at this point in their respective histories. It’s not hard to see that these are the harbingers of a nation in decline in many ways, most importantly in terms of values and conscience. We try not to use this blog as a platform for politics of any side, but we fear this corrosion has metastasized beyond politics into a national cancer.
Here is a good article from the Atlantic today which talks about how many conservatives, no matter how low this regime stoops, seem will never abandon this White House...
How to Know Who Will Let Trump Get Away With Anything
The defenses of the president’s son for seeking a meeting with a Kremlin-connected attorney make clear that some conservatives will never abandon this White House.
Read More here
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Social Security's Reserves Grew by $35 Billion in 2016 -- So Why Is the Program in Trouble?
Our friends at The Motley Fool really laid this out well. According to the just-released 2017 Social Security Trustees' report, Social Security brought in $35 billion more than it paid out, and now has a whopping $2.85 trillion in reserves in the OASDI Trust Funds. Despite this surplus, the program is still expected to run out of money in 2034, at which point it will only be able to pay out about three-fourths of promised benefits. Here's why Social Security's financial condition is expected to deteriorate rapidly over the next 17 years and what could be done about it.
Social Security ran a surplus in 2016, and is expected to do so for five more years
In 2016, Social Security's income was $957 billion, and its total expenditures including paid benefits and administration costs came to $922 billion, which resulted in the $35 billion addition to the reserves.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Although the $836 billion Social Security collected through payroll taxes wasn't enough to cover the program's costs, an additional $33 billion was brought in through the taxation of benefits and another $88 billion came from the interest earned on the existing reserves.
What's more, the program is expected to operate at an overall surplus all the way through 2021, so we should see the $2.85 trillion stockpile of reserves continue to grow for the next five years. Social Security's reserves are invested in special government bonds, which earned an effective interest rate of 3.2% in 2016, so you might think that Social Security is in good financial shape. And you would be right -- for now.
Here's the problem
Starting in 2022, the total annual cost of Social Security is expected to exceed the program's income. At this point, it will become necessary to tap into the reserves held in the OASDI Trust Funds in order to continue paying promised Social Security benefits.
Basically, the American population is aging. The large baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, and people are generally living longer and longer lives.
To put some numbers behind this statement, consider that between 1974 and 2008, there were between 3.2 and 3.4 workers paying into Social Security for every person collecting a benefit. By 2016, this ratio had fallen to 2.8 workers per beneficiary. In 2035, when baby boomers will be mostly retired, this is projected to fall to just 2.2-to-1. Simply put, not enough people will be paying in to the program to support the people who will depend on it for income.
How can we fix it?
In a nutshell, there are only two ways to fix the problem. We can cut benefits, which can take the form of a higher full retirement age, lower benefits for high earners, or across-the-board cuts, just to name a few possibilities.
Or we could increase taxes to combat the expected deficits and keep the program viable over the long run without reducing Social Security benefits. The report estimates that the 75-year actuarial deficit for the OASDI Trust Funds is equal to 2.83% of taxable payroll. Since half of the Social Security payroll tax is paid by employees, and half by employers, this implies that by raising the payroll tax rate by 1.415% for employees and their employers, we could solve the funding problem.
Of course, this is a simplified solution to a complex problem. For starters, it doesn't account for the phasing in of such a tax increase. Most proposed solutions involve a tax increase that's phased in over a number of years. Doing so would require an even more dramatic increase. Additionally, an increase in the payroll tax rate is only one potential tax-related solution. We could also increase, or remove, the cap on taxable payroll, which is $127,200 in 2017. We could do a combination of the two, or a compromise that consists of a combination of tax increases and benefit reductions.
The exact reform package that will ultimately be implemented (if any) is anyone's guess at this point, but the bottom line is that there is still time to fix the problem while Social Security is still on firm financial footing. The longer we wait, the more painful the fix could be.
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