Are you noticing your balance more than you used to? Do you sometimes hesitate when you’re walking or worry about tripping and falling? Do you feel nervous or unsteady coming down the stairs?

Even if
you are not someone who makes New Year’s resolutions, this is a time of year
when we tend to take stock, make plans and look ahead to the New Year.

In doing
so, whether intentionally or not, we set our priorities by how we schedule our
activities and plan our time.

Is Balance an Issue?

The new
year is a great time to take a second to notice our balance. Try asking yourself
the following questions:

• Is my balance as good as it used to
  be?
• Am I having more problems than I used
  to?
• Are my balance issues affecting my day-to-day
  activities more than I think?

Often,
when things change gradually, we get used to them without realising what is
happening. But if you take a minute to consider whether you notice your balance
more than you used to, you might be surprised how much things have changed.

Perhaps
you weren’t so worried about uneven pavements or coming down the stairs without
a handrail. Maybe you just don’t feel as confident or steady on your feet as
you did a few years ago.

So, if you
have realised that balance problems have crept up on you, then keep reading. I
am going to make the case for why you should put balance at the top of your
priority list for the new year.

What Do You Need Good Balance for?

Put
simply, good balance is essential to everything else you want to do.

Think
about your plans for the new year. Are you taking any trips? Going to see
family or friends? Have you booked any holidays or city breaks? Maybe even a
cruise?

What about
day-to-day activities? These may include going for walks with friends, volunteering,
tending to your garden, looking after grandchildren, going across town to shop
or go to an exhibition.

You need
to have good balance to do all these things.

For
example, if you are feeling unsteady on your feet, you may not want to take the
train across town to meet a friend (the stairs at the train station might be
tricky).

If you are
worried about falling, you might not enjoy those walks with your friends so
much.

If you are
anxious on bumpy ground (e.g., cobblestones and uneven pavements), that trip to
Paris or Dubrovnik might become much less enjoyable. You could spend the
weekend looking at your feet, not at all the beautiful sights around you.

If you
don’t feel confident when you are out and about, you might find it harder to
look after your grandchildren or take them out for the afternoon.

And, of
course, if you were to fall and break a wrist or a hip, then many of your plans
will be on hold for some time.

Maintaining
your balance is essential for you to do, and enjoy, so many of those other
things you are planning for the next year (and beyond).

I want you
to have great balance, to feel confident on your feet and to feel confident
every day going out into the world and doing all the things that you want and
need to do.

And I want
you to avoid trips, falls and broken bones.

Where to Start When Improving Your Balance?

The best
thing you can do is to start doing regular balance training exercises in small
bouts.

Doing a
class once a week can be great. Having an instructor to guide you is very
helpful, and people often push themselves a bit more in a class setting.

However,
if you want to improve your balance, you need to be doing something most days
of the week. It doesn’t need to be a lot. Just a few minutes a day (at home) is
all it takes. You don’t even need any equipment.

Here’s a
simple balance exercise that you can start with right now:

Tandem Stand (Balance Exercise)

For more exercises, check out our free, four-week Balance
Boost video series.

Don’t Lose Sight of Balance

Remember
that balance is more than the duration for which you can stand on one leg.
Balance equals confidence.

Better balance means you feel more confident going to
new places, walking on uneven ground, talking to your companions and enjoying
the scenery around you.

More confident walking down flights of stairs or being
out and about with grandchildren.

More confident travelling, going abroad and visiting foreign
cities, perhaps going to historic houses or gardens.

And that’s why, if you are having trouble with your
balance, you need to make it a priority this new year.

What is your #1 resolution for 2021? Do you think balance should be your top priority? What can you begin doing today to improve your balance? Please share with our community!

Covid-19 put the brakes on our lives and changed the rules of social engagement practically overnight. Have some things changed forever, like how we worked and the way we shopped? Will it have any permanent effect on how we stay in touch with one another?

Even before the pandemic, people were expressing their desire for a less isolated daily existence. Then, ironically, here we are, using the same tools to stay connected that many blamed for separating us in the first place.

The pandemic provided a crash course on where technology fits in. Imagine how much worse things would have been without Zoom, Facebook, WhatsApp, and all the tools we had. 

We’re all eager for lives to return to personal interaction, to hugs, smiles we can see, and being together in confined spaces. In movies, even robots like to be physically together. Soon we will be able to gather again more normally. What might be done to bring more warmth into how we exist in the world?

Takeaways from Another Culture

In Mexico, where I’ve lived part-time since 2014, friendships play out far differently than they do at home in the U.S. I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating why and concluded it’s how people in each culture approach being together.

Mexico is a notoriously group culture, rather than an individual culture as we are up north. While customs are often hard to transfer from one culture to another, there are, however, what I call “actionable” elements, habits that I’ve begun to carry over into my interactions at home.

Spontaneity

Mexicans still drop by unannounced. The first time it happened in Mexico I was horrified. Three Mexicans at my door, appearing like they’d been ripped out of the pages of Mexican Vogue magazine. I think I was wearing my ex-boyfriend’s gym shorts.

Over time though, these unannounced visits led to some of the best evenings I’ve spent in Mexico, transforming themselves into sightseeing drives and learning how to make pozole.

Actionable: Dropping by unannounced likely won’t make a come-back in the U.S. However, the idea of more spontaneity is due a revival.

By accepting a call or a visit and making myself available on terms other than my own, I hope to deliver a message that the caller is more important to me than whatever routine tasks at hand.

Hanging Out 

In my book, The Mexican Solution, I tell the story of my computer consultant coming over to fix my router. With Jesús there was another man, equally well dressed and the same age, whom I assumed was a trainee. I remarked how much he must be learning from Jesús.

“Oh no,” he laughed. “I’m not learning anything.” I sent him a quizzical look. “We’re friends. Our wives are friends. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so I’m just hanging out with him.” 

Remember when you were young and hung out with friends in dorm rooms or messy apartments? As we get older, our time together seems informed more by the rigid schedule of an event ticket, a dinner reservation, or an entrance fee.

Friendships become defined by what we do together rather than by being together. Hanging out, on the other hand, is time together without pressure to entertain or be entertained. 

Actionable: I likely won’t be able to convince my American friends to come over and hang out with me while I fold laundry like I can in Mexico. What I can do is offer to keep a friend company for a routine activity.

I’ve learned to ask, “Would you like some company? I have time.” It’s a subtle reminder that their company is enough. Time is the most valuable gift we can give.

Bringing Along the Adult Children 

It’s not unusual for my friends in Mexico to visit and bring their adult children in tow. Even more astonishing is that their kids don’t seem to mind. For the first year, it felt awkward to me. None of my friends at home do this. 

With time, I began to realize the benefit of having certain subjects off the table and others, like the latest horror movies or pop culture, jumping up to take their place. Conversations involving younger people give you a whole new perspective of the world. 

Actionable: In the U.S. we tend to separate family time from friend time. We learn a lot about our friends when we watch how they interact with their kids.

It’s not always appropriate to bring an adult child along when we see our friends, but we can suggest to our friends that we’re interested in their children – the most important people in their lives – and welcome them on occasion in our plans.

The Greeting and the Sign-Off

In Mexican culture exists the amusing balm of the extended goodbye: the various exchanges before taking one’s leave. On the phone, one never says they have to “let you go.” They offer all kinds of blessings and sweet talk before hanging up. 

Mexican greetings and partings are abundant with the words: mi amor, amiga, bendiciones, corazón, abrazos, besos, even te quiero.(If you ever plan on visiting Latin America, put these Spanish words on the top of your deck of vocabulary flashcards.)

Actionable: Like small verbal hugs, I’ve begun to incorporate occasional endearments into my conversations, even the simple hello, my dear friend,in greetings at home.

My best friend in the States always ends longer conversations on the note of how she’s enjoyed talking, concluding them on an up note. I’ve begun to try to do the same.

Curating Conversational Topics

I recently received an email from an American online magazine for people over 50 lobbying for my readership. They announced they’d be covering the following topics in the new year: Ageism in the workplace, the pandemic, end-of-life decision making, caregiving (and caregiving in the pandemic), glad tidings I’m sure my friends would love for me to share with them.

In Mexico, my conversations are devoid of American politics and a multitude of other topics in the news that made 2020 such a dreadful year. Conversations here are always less grave. This tendency made the year less grim for Mexicans even as they dealt with the pandemic much the same way we did.

Actionable: Of course, information such as in the previously mentioned newsletter can be useful, but we need to restrict our diets of such fare to essential reading and stop doomscrolling.

One of the things I appreciate about 60 & Me is the balance of the practical information we need to deal with difficult issues with the fun, inspirational, and humorous.

The world is full of wonder and hilarity, of Bollywood movies and mysterious monoliths in the desert, of Becoming Duchess Goldblatt and Bruno Mars videos that we can share with our friends.

Purveyors of pleasure deserve at least as much of our attention as the conveyors of concern. Theirs are the works to seek out, the things that will help us keep our sanity as we travel the rest of way into the light.

Have you lived in a different country for a longer time? What have you learned about friendship when living abroad? What actionable steps can you implement in your life back home? Please share what you’ve tried!

Twice a year, Bath & Body Works pulls out all the stops and discounts holiday and everyday favorites up to 75 percent off, which new discounts throughout the week. The Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual sale for holiday 2020 is no different—actually, it might be even better. We’ve got the details on all the goods so you can game-plan your shopping trip.

Of course, deals will be online as well as in-store so if you feel safer shopping from your couch, you can still stock up on Bath & Body Works favorites. Now’s the chance to score the beloved holiday fragrances before they’re gone (until next year), as well as throwbacks including Secret Wonderland, Honeysuckle and Sensual Amber brought back just for this sale. Christmas body care will be just $4.95 and select Christmas 3-Wick Candles will be $11.95.

Source: Instagram

For the best of the best deals, you’ll want to dig for those 75 percent off products. These include body care, candles, hand soaps and tons of non-holiday items you’ll want to use all-year round. You’ll even be able to find some best-selling fall body scare scents and ones you haven’t smelled for months. It’s basically like a rummage sale where you never know exactly what you’ll find.

The sale begins Saturday, December 26. If you’re shopping in store, don’t forget your face mask and hand sanitizer and maybe even consider going on off hours to avoid the crowds. Or, there’s always delivery! As much as we want to shop and treat ourselves this year (we deserve it), we also have to stay safe too. Set your iCal and get ready to get your haul on. Then, have big New Year zoom with friends to share exactly what you got.

Twice a year, Bath & Body Works pulls out all the stops and discounts holiday and everyday favorites up to 75 percent off, which new discounts throughout the week. The Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual sale for holiday 2020 is no different—actually, it might be even better. We’ve got the details on all the goods so you can game-plan your shopping trip.

Of course, deals will be online as well as in-store so if you feel safer shopping from your couch, you can still stock up on Bath & Body Works favorites. Now’s the chance to score the beloved holiday fragrances before they’re gone (until next year), as well as throwbacks including Secret Wonderland, Honeysuckle and Sensual Amber brought back just for this sale. Christmas body care will be just $4.95 and select Christmas 3-Wick Candles will be $11.95.

Source: Instagram

For the best of the best deals, you’ll want to dig for those 75 percent off products. These include body care, candles, hand soaps and tons of non-holiday items you’ll want to use all-year round. You’ll even be able to find some best-selling fall body scare scents and ones you haven’t smelled for months. It’s basically like a rummage sale where you never know exactly what you’ll find.

The sale begins Saturday, December 26. If you’re shopping in store, don’t forget your face mask and hand sanitizer and maybe even consider going on off hours to avoid the crowds. Or, there’s always delivery! As much as we want to shop and treat ourselves this year (we deserve it), we also have to stay safe too. Set your iCal and get ready to get your haul on. Then, have big New Year zoom with friends to share exactly what you got.

Twice a year, Bath & Body Works pulls out all the stops and discounts holiday and everyday favorites up to 75 percent off, which new discounts throughout the week. The Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual sale for holiday 2020 is no different—actually, it might be even better. We’ve got the details on all the goods so you can game-plan your shopping trip.

Of course, deals will be online as well as in-store so if you feel safer shopping from your couch, you can still stock up on Bath & Body Works favorites. Now’s the chance to score the beloved holiday fragrances before they’re gone (until next year), as well as throwbacks including Secret Wonderland, Honeysuckle and Sensual Amber brought back just for this sale. Christmas body care will be just $4.95 and select Christmas 3-Wick Candles will be $11.95.

Source: Instagram

For the best of the best deals, you’ll want to dig for those 75 percent off products. These include body care, candles, hand soaps and tons of non-holiday items you’ll want to use all-year round. You’ll even be able to find some best-selling fall body scare scents and ones you haven’t smelled for months. It’s basically like a rummage sale where you never know exactly what you’ll find.

The sale begins Saturday, December 26. If you’re shopping in store, don’t forget your face mask and hand sanitizer and maybe even consider going on off hours to avoid the crowds. Or, there’s always delivery! As much as we want to shop and treat ourselves this year (we deserve it), we also have to stay safe too. Set your iCal and get ready to get your haul on. Then, have big New Year zoom with friends to share exactly what you got.