Mastery
Becoming proficient at a specific skill or job will also bolster longevity and health. "Older persons who pursue activities in which they experience a sense of control and mastery are healthier both physically and mentally than those who do not," says Gene Cohen, director of George Washington University's center on aging. Engaging in challenging activities that produce a sense of accomplishment actually boosts one's immune system.
Ron Harris, 60, planned to retire into a life of golf and fishing from his maintenance manager position at a BP refinery near Chicago. But he missed the sense of fulfillment his job provided. So, Harris became captain of emergency medical services for the volunteer fire department in Tellico Village, a Tennessee retirement community.
"It gets you up, gets you going, and it challenges the mind," Harris says. Now he is constantly challenged mentally and physically, administering medical treatment when he gets to a call before the ambulance or stringing out fire hoses. "I was one of those people that before I got into it, I couldn't stand to look at it if people took blood from me," Harris says. "And now I could give myself an IV if I needed to." Not only is Harris's new proficiency improving the lives of his patients, but it's also assisting his own body in fighting disease.
"There seem to be health benefits to keeping all of your body parts moving -- including the nerve cells in your brain," says John Trojanowski, director of the University of Pennsylvania Institute on Aging. "And the more engaged you are with other people, the more healthy you are." Trojanowski, 59, plans never to retire. In fact, he's having so much fun putting in about 90 hours per week that he'd like to live to be 200. "The best way to do that," he says, "is for me to continue to be active and engaged in my work."
© 2006, U.S. News and World Report. Distributed by Tribune Media Services.
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