11 More Things To Avoid In the Second Half of Life

Plus The Benefits Of Walking Backwards

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11 More Things To Avoid in the Second Half of Life

Last year I wrote a post pointing out 7 things to avoid in the second half of life. It proved very popular so I thought I’d write a follow up to it. We’re all told what we should be doing, but not often what we should avoid. After much thought I came up with 11 more things to avoid, and here they are:

AVOID clinging onto past wrongs and regrets. Forgive yourself for wrongs you committed earlier by a younger version of you, when you didn’t know any better. Forgive others who have wronged you. Forgiveness helps release the emotional burden of holding onto anger and resentment. You can then move on more easily from the past to live fully in the present.

It is utterly false and cruelly arbitrary to put all the play and learning into childhood, all the work into middle age, and all the regrets into old age. Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist

AVOID drifting and having no clear purpose of what to do with your life, especially after retirement. Find your reason for getting out of bed every morning when you have no job to go to. Take up a hobby, volunteer for a local charity, and make your health a project that motivates you every day to be active and busy. The Japanese have a word, ikigai, which means ‘reason for being.’ It helps them to focus and live long lives. Learn from this.

AVOID illness by not ignoring health flags. Check out worrying signs something is amiss with your doctor. Keep up with health checks and vaccinations.

AVOID not taking care of your mental health: take time out regularly to relax, to just sit for a time doing nothing but thinking and relaxing. Relieve stress with meditation and breathing exercises, listen to engrossing podcasts that take you out of yourself, and learn what it takes for you to just chill.

AVOID inviting disease by eating a poor diet. It is advisable not to eat high sodium foods, ultra-processed foods, sodas, refined grains, processed meats, saturated and trans fats, and foods high on the glycemic index.

AVOID making days you just drift through, the norm. Plan a healthy routine that includes walking, meditation, breathwork practice, exercise, hobbies, socialising. A routine provides structure and predictability, which is good for your mental health, it gives a sense of purpose and direction, and can lead to good quality sleep.

Following a routine is good for your mental health, but you need also to AVOID getting in a rut. Try new things regularly, new experiences, unknown places, new food. Learn something new, a new language, how to play a musical instrument, an art or craft, or visit a museum or art gallery you haven’t visited before. Innovation is good for the brain, creating new neural pathways and avoiding atrophy.

AVOID the belief that life in older age is about taking it easy, with your feet up, and watching more tv. A sedentary lifestyle shortens your life - exercise every day to retain balance, strength and stamina to keep active and engaged with life as you go into your older years. If you become weak from sarcopenia and you fall, causing you to be afraid to be active again, your mortality rate will increase as you shorten your life. The ability to move freely will give you years of extra quality time. Staying strong and capable avoids having to depend on others.

If the news depresses you AVOID watching the news. The world will still go on turning, even if you don’t know what’s happening. This is your one life and you need to live it to capacity. Don’t let continuous bad news spoil it for you. Switch off. Listen to music you love, watch enjoyable films, read good books, have a gardening session, do the things that make you happy.

AVOID negativity. See every new day as a gift and savour every moment because nobody promised tomorrow.

AVOID hoarding. In the first half of life we gather stuff, paperwork we don’t want to throw away, grown-up children’s mementos, endless photos, materials for hobbies we no longer practice, clothes we still haven’t worn, ‘but they might come in handy,’ the list goes on. In the second half of life, we need to avoid holding on to much of this stuff. Buddhism teaches minimalism and non-attachment as core principles. A clear out of things we no longer need or use will give us space mentally and physically to breathe.

AVOID apathy. Stay curious and engaged with life. As Henry David Thoreau said "None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm”.

The Benefits of Walking Backwards

Many of you will know we have a walking challenge group here at Life in the Second Half. I’ve written posts before about the importance of walking and set up a challenge at the beginning of the year: walking a daily 4,000-step count. It was only supposed to last through January, but it was so popular we extended it, and added another challenge in February. As well as the step count, we added 20 squats. This month we dropped the 20 squats and now it’s at least 2 exercise snacks per day, as well as the step count.

If you’re interested in this challenge and you’re not already involved, go to the Chat thread for this newsletter and declare your intention to join in. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world; we have group members from many countries logging their daily challenge achievements.

I’ve recently acquired some walking poles and will be trying out Nordic Walking with them. I’ll let you know how I get on. Meanwhile, having read an article or two about walking backwards, I thought you might be interested to hear about it, too, as it has several benefits.

The same muscles are used as for forwards walking, but they are used differently. Studies show backwards walking leads to greater activation of the lumbar paraspinal muscles compared to forwards walking, which may be one reason for it’s aptitude to relieve chronic lower back pain.

Other research proves backwards walking can also help support people with knee pain, especially for those with knee osteoarthritis. Backwards walking can also improve your cardiovascular system, according to science, because it challenges it more than forwards walking.

It doesn’t seem like a practical thing to do outside on your own, in case you fall. In the examples I read about, it was being tried out mostly on treadmills. It’s slower than forwards walking, perhaps even half as slow, so maybe practice it indoors. I tried it out this morning. I don’t have a treadmill, but I found a space to walk safely backwards in my bedroom, and then turned around and go back a few times, just to see what it felt like.

I liked it and as I have slightly arthritic knees, it might help if I do it regularly, but always indoors. 10 minutes at a time, 3 times a week has been found to be beneficial. If you want to try this method of walking, make sure you do so safely and with the advice of a physical therapist about your body’s suitability. If your balance isn’t great, then this is probably not for you.

DISCUSSION

What do you think? I’d love to know your thoughts on any aspect of this post. Is there anything in the 11 More Things to Avoid section that you’d like to comment on or discuss? What do you think about Backwards Walking? Don’t forget to press the heart icon to leave a like if you enjoyed the post; it also helps others find it.

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