What did you expect your retirement to be when you haven retire? Feel feel to not reply. I am just curious. I notice that there are people who retire early mentally slow down much faster than people who work. obviously this is not the case for you. Do you purposely keep your mind active
-Guest
So in continuation of yesterday's post...
I don't know if this is just me, but I'll write about my experience.
There are some activities which make me feel like my brain is rotting.
Not saying these are bad activities. It's just that it doesn't work for me. Cos when I do these activities, my mind shuts down. It doesn't trigger my mind to analyze things.
And I like analyzing things. I like to ponder about things.
There are a couple of activities that make me feel like my brain isn't working. Like binge watching drama serials. Especially Korean, HK, Taiwanese dramas. Note, it's just when binge watching. If I watch one episode a day and do other things for the rest of the day, I find it ok for me.
But when I binge watch dramas, I get a headache and feel like my brain didn't think much for the day.
Which is why I usually don't watch much serials.
I liken it to like NS days. When my mind was shut down for 2 years and went into hibernation mode.
Same as grindy farming games. I don't play games as much anymore, cos many online games are repetitive, and many end up grinding and farming. And repeat movements makes me stop brain activity and I don't like that feeling.
I intentionally try to keep posting as much as I can, especially when I came to Houston, cos I want to keep the ability to think, write, formulate ideas and express them.
It's quite challenging thinking up topics everyday and writing a post on it. It takes me around 2 hours per post. Sometimes I write halfway and realize that my points aren't enough to make a substantial post so I delete and start again on another topic. So it keeps my mind active.
Cooking is also a highly mental exercise for me. Cos I don't follow recipes. I imagine the flavours, how to combine the different ingredients, how to reduce wastage, how to use the leftovers of one day and incorporate it into something else the next day, what to buy that I will be able to finish using, cos many people buy ingredients and use it once for a recipe and don't use it anymore, leading to wastage, for me, I think how to substitute ingredients or remove ingredients so that I don't need to buy a "once off use ingredient".
So for me, cooking is a whole problem solving exercise on a regular basis.
The mind is like any other muscle and will atrophy over time if not in use.
And for me, I can literally feel it wasting away if I do certain activities.
For me, I think it's about the habit of thinking, or analyzing.
When reading something, or watching something. I question what I see.
Is it true? Why should I believe it is true? What evidence is there?
Or even if I watch shows, I imagine myself to be the different characters, and I think to myself, I ask myself, if I'm in this situation, what would I do? How would I handle this situation?
I try to critique things. It's a habit. Critique, not critic.
I try to analyze things, what's good about it, what's bad about it, can anything be done about it, etc.
I used to take literature when in secondary school. I think it was a good subject to encourage analytical thinking.
So I do wonder, is keeping the mind active a normal thing to do?
Or do people not analyze things on a regular basis.
Since for me, analyzing things has become habitual, then I tend to think about a lot of things, but may end up over thinking things or stressed up about small matters.
And I think this has kept my mind active. Cos I think about a lot of things.
Now... of course I don't know about others... cos I cannot read minds.
IF someone else doesn't usually analyze and think about stuff. Meaning the mind is generally idle.
Example... someone with little opinions about things, or willfully ignorant, not curious, takes things at face value...
Then I would suspect that someone like this MIGHT slow down mentally.
This is an opinion, an idea, I don't know. I'm just speculating that this might be the case.
Cos... it's like army. People who don't exercise much in their regular lifestyle, will NEED to shape up in army. Most of us are the fittest when we are in the army.
So due to the army and the lifestyle, we are forced to exercise and get fit.
But once we go back to normal life, then we slack off. Those who aren't in the habit of exercising don't continue to exercise and become less fit.
I would think this might be similar with the mind.
For someone who doesn't exercise the mind much in their daily life, will NEED to use their minds when at work. However, this isn't their "default" setting. When they don't need to work, they slack off and stop using their minds as much. Which could result in a slowing down of mental ability.
Similar to when we don't need to exercise cos we aren't in army anymore.
Now of course... I cannot confirm this. I'm no psychologist and I don't do research in this area.
Although I highly believe this.
Cos I have seen this happen in families.
Sometimes, a family member or a nice son, might hire a maid for the parent, who might be an elderly.
So the elderly person previously needed to do some light cleaning, planning for marketing, cooking, etc... but after the maid is hired, the elderly person now doesn't need to do many things. Ends up they sit around watching TV a lot. And usually when this happens I tend to see them get weaker physically AND mentally.
Cos doing things, cleaning the house, planning for marketing, cooking, etc. All these requires thinking and planning.
It gives the old folk something to do.
Now, of course, if the old folk is physically sick and unable to do such things in the first place, that's a different matter, then getting aid is fine, BUT if the old folk is able to do these activities, and a well-meaning child hires aid... then that MIGHT not be the best thing for the elderly.
Once again, I'm no expert in elderly care.
What I say is based on my minimal experience. I've seen it happen in multiple occasions.
So in response to the initial question, "Do I intentionally keep my mind active?"
I would say yes and no.
I don't enjoy keeping my inactive. So in that sense, I intentionally keep my mind active.
Reading things, learning about things, analyzing things is considered entertainment to me.
But yet, since I do it so regularly, it's also hard to call it "intentionally" anymore. Cos it's become a daily habit.
Similar to saying, that saving and being frugal is not a chore to me. Cos it's already integrated into my life. I don't even enjoy spending.
I think mental exercising is also part of my daily life... I don't enjoy not analyzing things.
Now... if only I could get physical exercising integrated into my daily life as well. That would be wonderful.
Cos... for physical exercise... I actually enjoy idling, and I don't like exercise.
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