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Fitness through volunteerism
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DEAR JIM:: Since retiring five years ago, I find myself sitting around like a lump on a log. I’ve gained about 20 pounds and, at 72, I feel like I’m just wasting away my so-called “golden years.” Many of my friends and neighbors have either died or moved away so I am increasingly alone too. I could easily afford to go places and do things to be more active but I don’t seem to have the same motivation as when I was working – you know, the daily deadlines, schedules, meetings, appointments, and all of the other things that used to keep me on my toes and gave me a sense of importance. I’ve become a real couch potato and remote control freak and I’m driving my wife absolutely crazy. How do I get off my backside and find some purpose in life again? LUMP ON A LOG IN LINCOLN
DEAR LUMP ON A LOG: At least you have recognized that something is wrong and want to do something about it. Far too many older adults turn their “golden years” into “olden years” after they retire and their physical and mental abilities begin to decline sharply through inactivity. Remember that retirement doesn’t have to mean just sitting around doing nothing until you go to your grave but, rather, it can be a time to explore new directions in life. For many seniors, volunteerism provides an important direction.
I know, I know. You are probably a college graduate with a Ph.D, and you were a high-powered business executive so you have more to offer than to just volunteer your time to take tickets at the local non-profit bazaar. You’re right, of course. Many of today’s modern seniors have a lifetime of work experience and professional skills to give back to their communities and many volunteer opportunities might be truly unworthy of their stature – and it’s all right to feel that way. Sure, once in a while you might be willing to help out by volunteering to flip pancakes at the church pancake supper or hand out programs for the local school play. It’s not that these things are beneath you but you DO have a certain amount of pride in what you have learned and accomplished in life and it’s a shame to let it go to waste.
The Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) – the largest organization of retired and senior volunteers in the country – has recognized the changing profile of today’s growing senior population and is seeking new and 
more challenging volunteer opportunities to match their abilities and experience of their volunteers. RSVP (www.seniorcorps.gov/about/programs/rsvp.asp), of course, “is part of Senior Corps, a network of national service programs that provides older Americans the opportunity to apply their life experience to meeting community needs. RSVP volunteers serve in a diverse range of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and faith-based groups. Among other activities, they mentor at-risk youth, organize neighborhood watch programs, test drinking water for contaminants, teach English to immigrants, and lend their business skills to community groups that provide critical social services. In fiscal year 2001, for example, approximately 480,000 volunteers served an average of four hours a week at an estimated 65,000 local organizations.”
So how does this relate to your problem? Most of us already know that volunteering helps someone else but what will volunteering do for YOU!?! Well, a University of Michigan psychology study garnered national attention by backing up the widely held belief, with scientific fact, that volunteering improves a person’s physical well being. After tracking the health and fate of 423 older couples for five years, a psychology team concluded that seniors who lend support to others live longer. "By making our contribution to others, we may be contributing to our own longevity," said lead psychologist Stephanie Brown of the university's Institute for Social Research (www.rcgd.isr.umich.edu/people/stebrown.html).
Brown’s study - "Providing social support may be more beneficial than receiving it: results from a prospective study of mortality" - indicates that people who get help from volunteers don't benefit as much as the volunteers. Her theory is that, thanks to evolutionary forces, humans live longer when they have a sense of being important to someone else, the way a new mother feels important to her infant. In other words, she said, it is better to give than to receive.
Volunteering will get you out of the house and involved in your community. It will also remove you from your increasing isolation and help you to expand your social circle and enjoy better health as you actively share yourself and your abilities with others. And, it will get you out from under your wife’s feet too. In fact, she might even choose to join you once in a while. Perhaps, there is even a volunteer opportunity that you can both enjoy together.
Find a volunteer project and schedule that works for you and your “olden years” will soon become the “golden years” that you anticipated. And understand that “fitness” sometimes involves more than just exercise.
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