Many adults go through their working lives looking forward to the day that they can retire. The same cohort will tell you they look forward to the day they own their house outright. They will also tell you that they have fabulous plans to travel. To buy that caravan and see Australia. To go to Europe. To go on that cruise that starts in Asia and sails its way back home.
My name is Chiou See and I am the Owner and Founder of Elements Retirement Village @ Springwood. And no, I am not going to flog you a home at our village. Over the course of 2021, I am going to share with you, the readers, some of the secrets of ageing well. I am going to frame my observations of our residents and theory of successful ageing using the Ikigai framework. But first, let me explain what Ikigai is.
Ikigai means “a reason for being”. It is about being purposeful, about having a sense of satisfaction and achievement from doing something meaningful and doing it well. At Elements, most of our residents may have retired from their profession/vocation/paid jobs but they most certainly have not retired from their passion or mission. In fact, our residents are the best living examples of Australians who have found their ikigai. In the past 10 years, we have only lost 11 residents, mostly from old age or cancer. My observation is that, in fact, our residents are too busy to die.
So, why do you exist? What is your reason for being? What is your gift – “what you are good at”? What makes you jump out of bed most mornings? What excites you – “what you love”? When you go to bed most nights, do you feel satisfied that you have made a difference? That you have enjoyed making a difference – “what the world needs?
Ageing, like dying, is inevitable. We need to learn how to stay young while growing old and the best way to achieve this is to keep healthy and remain curious. We need to observe and emulate the ones who do it well. Let’s learn their secrets and study their habits together. We shall explore the ten key elements of what they do well. Each month, in this column, I will discuss each of these ten elements by delving into the secrets of one chosen Elements resident whom I feel is an exemplary specimen. The ten elements are:
- Be Active
- Be Mindful
- Be content when 80% full
- Be with positive people
- Be focussed
- Be happy – smile
- Be with nature
- Be grateful
- Be in the moment
- Be purposeful
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