By Marie Elium
As we plan, plot, dream and dare ourselves to make and achieve bucket list goals, don’t forget the most important part: people.
That’s the advice from Dr. Charles Duffy, director of University Hospitals Brain Health and Memory Center. We may book a cruise, learn Spanish or audition for a play — all bucket list-worthy goals. But for true growth and long-term benefits, it’s who you share those experiences with, not what those experiences are, that is important.
More Than Goals
Dr. Duffy is a healthy-aging expert. Goal-setting can be important for some people as a guide, but not if they become a list of must-dos that limit your flexibility to respond to opportunities outside of those on a list.
“Doing what’s important to you and reminding yourself of what’s important are good things. Use your time well. Your enjoyment is a very good measure of what is stimulating to your brain and develops mental acuity,” Dr. Duffy says.
He adds that three things contribute to healthy aging: physical fitness, mental stimulation and human connections. “The brain is a connection machine. If you can provide it with experiences, you are building those connections,” he says.
Rekindle relationships and nurture new ones. Having and accomplishing things on a bucket list are more meaningful and lasting when people are part of the plan.
“(A) bucket list isn’t about physical challenges. I want to make sure I take a walk each day, but do it with someone and get stimulation mentally, socially and physically. That’s a formula for successful aging,” Dr. Duffy says. If reading more books is on your bucket list, join a book club and discuss books with someone.
“We all, especially in aging, tend to cocoon ourselves — wrap ourselves up in isolation — and that has a detrimental effect on our physical, mental and social life. In our modern, hectic society there is a real lonely crowd that’s accomplishing … doing things. Lonely crowds propel people into late-life cognitive decline,” Dr. Duffy says.
When it comes to making plans or setting goals, Dr. Duffy says to save time for the unexpected.
“It’s important to not get your foot stuck in the bucket because it will prevent you from taking advantage of the things that just arise.”
Marie Elium is editor of Northeast Ohio Boomer magazine. She’s never met a crowd she didn’t like.
