As we anticipate a new year, some of us consider meaningful ways to improve our lives—physically, mentally, spiritually or socially. But the tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions predates modern times. Babylonians, Romans and Medieval knights began each year by making sacred promises to adhere to expected standards of behavior.
Today we make resolutions to meet our own personal standards or improve an aspect of our daily lives. What about you? Would you like to do something differently to enhance your life in 2018?
Here are 10 ideas for resolutions for 2018, selected from our 2017 blog posts.
(Click on the link to read the full blog post.)
- Safeguard personal security. Don’t give credit card, banking, social security and Medicare information in email or to callers on the phone.
- Eat healthily. That means protein (lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, beans), raw and steamed vegetables, and lower-fat starches (most rice, pasta, grains, potatoes).
- Exercise your body and mind with walking, the perfect exercise for seniors in good physical shape.
- Boost memory by eating nutritiously, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep.
- Lessen fatigue by pacing yourself through the day and not overdoing strenuous activity.
- Get annual medical exams as a preventive health measure in retirement.
- Get immunizations. The flu vaccine is particularly important for seniors.
- Reduce risk of falling by using night lights in your bedroom, hallway and bathroom.
- Guard dental health by seeing a dentist twice a year to have teeth cleaned and examined.
- Monitor your vision with a comprehensive dilated eye exam every year or two after age 65.
To increase your chances of keeping your resolutions, set small, realistic goals.
For example, don’t try to completely change your diet overnight. You might want to take on more protein one week, less sugar the next, and so on. Or with walking, perhaps go around the block to start, then a quarter mile, a half mile, etc. A main reason that people break resolutions is setting goals that are too difficult to instantly achieve. Also, set measurable goals—a specific number or targeted date. Establish a time schedule for achieving your goal, and work toward it through the year.
We support our seniors in being the best that they can be.
At Country Meadows Retirement Communities, that means the best physically, mentally, spiritually and socially. Our professionally trained staff attends to all aspects of our residents’ health and well-being, whether residing in our independent living communities, assisted living or personal care homes, or memory support neighborhoods.
If you are choosing a retirement community near you, please contact us for information or to schedule a visit so we can introduce you to our campus, staff and wide array of services.
We can show you around any of our Pennsylvania retirement communities or our retirement community in Maryland and introduce you to the full range of services that one of our caring senior communities could offer you or your loved one.
We have senior apartments at 10 Pennsylvania retirement homes—in Lancaster, Hershey, Mechanicsburg, Pittsburgh, Wyomissing, York-South, York-West, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton—as well as a retirement home in Frederick, MD.
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