Hello readers! 💙 💜 💖 💗 💘
This is something I have thought about often, especially now that my kids have grown up and I’m getting on in years.
I’ve always felt that it’s important to know what we want to do and how we want to spend our time when retired.
While being professionally employed has provided me with financial independence, it had become a chore in the last 2 years. Maybe its the pandemic environment that created this ‘pressure to perform’ all the time. Maybe its age creeping up on me. Or it may just be burn out.
We either accept or reject the fact that there is no such thing as work-life balance. It is more work-life integration. Acceptance leads to choices on how to cope. I’ve accepted this somewhat.
In order to maintain my well being, I tried to make sure I ate and rested well, and kept my mind and body fit, to face the work week and the daily grind once the weekend came to a close.
Well, I think that I have been successful doing this, to alleviate stress and maintain my physical health. I don’t want my mind and body going ‘downhill’ while earning a living! When we are sick with the ills of the first world, it may be too late to do anything about it after we retire, no matter how much wealth we have accumulated.
My reasons for starting this blog were to track my clean eating goals and add some personal creativity to my otherwise stress filled and hectic work days. These outlets were like ‘fresh air’, and were not time consuming at all. I’ll admit they were ‘distractions’, but in some ways they were ‘healthy’. They worked the mind into composing a post to share a hobby or activity with readers. These creative forays helped me stay positive.
I was also clean eating and not gluttoning on food as a source of comfort. I still binge when stressed but know how to reverse the ill effects! I don’t smoke or drink – two killers that can cause irreparable damage to the body.
I think that these activities also helped me decentralise the work-centric life that I have had for a long time. When work becomes the centre of the ‘Universe’, everything and everyone revolves around it.
Becoming less work-centric means taking time out to do something else. If all this while, work was your ‘Universe’ before retiring, once all this stops, you would need to make adjustments to avoid feelings of loss and confusion.
I’ve had hobbies since I was young. These hobbies would definitely follow me into retirement. Having something to do will ensure that I’m still active!
Here’s a list of some my hobbies!
1. Running, general exercise and staying physically active
This is what I do to alleviate stress and recharge on weekends.
2. Blogging
This is what I have re started after a long hiatus. As you can see from my posts, most are about my clean eating journey since July 2021. I intend to keep this going and see where it goes.
Writing is a good way to exercise mentally and avoid dementia!
3. Making music
I have been learning to play the piano since 2007. Actually I should say that I relearnt playing the piano with a teacher after stopping for over 20 years. That’s right. There is no typo there. It is 20, not 2.
I don’t consider myself an accomplished musician yet (hahaha), but I can play pieces now, that I did not have a chance to play when younger!
Here’s the utube link to my rendition of an Albeniz favourite 😍! Lol.
My music teacher mentioned that I will not get dementia anytime soon with the brain activity I have created through music!
3. Travel again when it’s safe to do so
There were places we still wanted to visit before the covid19 outbreak. So I do hope that very soon it would be safe enough to travel again.
4. Reading
I do read alot more now. Not just blogs from WP Reader, but books in general. Hardcopy books too.
Recently I have started reading a book passed on to me by my music teacher – A History of Western Music. It’s a thick tome….I will blog a review on this if I manage to finish it! It’s like bedtime stories for ‘nerdy’ adults. Lol.
5. Growing stuff in my urban garden
Ok. This hobby I only started in Jul last year! It’s abit more time consuming and the plants need care. If using water not so much. If using soil, alot more! So far I’ve grown plants to be eaten- microgreens. I started urban gardening out of curiosity and you can find some of these explorations in my blog!
Well, that’s my take on work, coping with first world stress and retirement!
Hope you enjoyed reading this post! Thanks for stopping by! Take care and bye for now! ❤️ 💙 💜 💖 💗
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