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Stress during old age can be very difficult. Faced with time and nothing to do, old people can relieve stress and release pent-up energy through leisure activities. Two great examples are traveling and volunteer work.
In ten years of retirement, you will have the leisure time equivalent of working 40 hours a week for 21 years. You cannot fish this time away and you cannot rest it away. Old age is a time of de-stressing and but this doesn’t mean that old people should just stay indoors all the time. Not doing anything is as bad as over-exerting yourself. Old people should busy themselves with activities to relieve stress to keep themselves full of energy. Travel Travel satisfies your need for adventure in many ways. If you travel off-season at bargain rates, you’ll find that time truly is money. Most travel problems stem from rushing to meet a schedule. Making every minute count on a fast-paced European tour can be expensive and exhausting. For the same transatlantic fare, you can spend a full year in Europe at one-third the daily cost of a three-week vacation. Wherever you travel, it isn’t enough just to sightsee. Try to center your travel around an interest or a hobby. There’s always something comforting about a familiar thing in a strange land. You can take art or music tours—tours that stress education, night life, culture, or special interests. You can travel with your spouse or children. But whatever you do, participate: don’t just observe. Doing things instead of just observing adds new dimensions to the pleasure of going places. For people who participate, travel means the adventure of enjoying exciting new places, people, and experiences. To help plan your trip, write to the government tourist offices of foreign countries. Volunteer Work Through community service and volunteer work, thousands are not only helping others but are serving themselves. Such activities keep time from hanging heavy, give purpose to retirement, and relieve stress. Participating in community activities is not difficult. In some communities a call to the city clerk is enough to get started. In others, a letter to the mayor will bring faster results. In large cities, call the volunteer associations. If you wish to have the type of volunteer job that leads to a second career, you might consider doing work for one of the government programs utilizing the skills of older people. Volunteer work is especially rewarding to retirees seeking stress-relieving activities. Plus it is a perfect venue to impart your skills and ideals to younger people you come in contact with. You can do this through the Boy Scouts. Girl Scouts, YMCA’s and YWCA’s—organizations that are present all over the world.
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