Designer Approach to Solving Human Problems

                                     From our August visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland 

Lately, I've been reading lots of blogs on retirement and transitions in an effort to locate myself in what feels like a new time and place or phas even though I've been retired for
more than two years and in my new community just as long.

I've been enjoying the excellent site brainpickings.org with it emphasis on creativity and
ideas, writing, and reading -- activities that feed one's soul. I've continued to peruse 


favorites such intentionalretirement.com  and eretirements.com because each offers thoughtful, useful information. As I've been reading and pondering, I have found myself returning to the September post "Calling all Retirees" on Retired Syd's blog (retiredsyd.typepad.com). One of her readers, Walter openly commented on his dissatisfaction with retirement, how he feels lost, unhappy and unsure there is a retirement 
for him. Syd put out a call to her readers for their thoughts on what might be helpful to Walter.  While I empathized and sympathized with Walter's  dilemma, I wasn't so clear that 
suggestions from others would help him solve his problem. 

The more I pondered Walter's situation, the more I came to think that he and I share the same problem. In my blog reading and researching, I happened upon the ideas Bill Burnett and Dave Evans put forth on their web site designingyour.life and in their book (one I think Walter should read) of the same name based on their wildly popular Stanford University 
course.

 Why do I think Walter and I share the same problem? Because our problems are human 
problems. Retirement or pre-retirement is similar to any other life phase in that it can toss a 
crisis or two in the way, unwanted, undesired road blocks, challenges, dilemmas, barriers, 
and disease like cancer.

                                     Just two of my favorite photos from safari in SA 


The retirement R and I planned for our "Go Go Years" has been shelved, we hope 
temporarily because he has cancer. After too many months of PSA tests, biopsies, more 
high tech biopsies, MRIs, CT and body scans, more conversations with physicians about 
potency, nerve sparing procedures, and continence or incontinence then I thought I'd 
participate in over my lifetime, we are traveling the path from cancer diagnosis to best 
treatment which in this case will be -- surgery and then recovery.

Did we take a wrong turn on the retirement bliss highway?

Nope. This is just life and life is full of human problems. While I am a retired therapist trained to think about human issues in all kinds of ways, Burnett and Evans' "think like a designer" approach resonated with me. Some problems are static problems, like how to build a bridge or a house that are solved and then you are finished. Those are concrete kinds of problems. But life problems are "wicked problems," (a rather sinister term) that are not static, not solved one time and you are finished, but require an adaptable, flexible approach to solving for the solution criteria keep changing. 
I'll add that the criteria probably change with new situations and with age.

The solution criteria for my problem have changed and I suspect the solution criteria also 
changed for Walter.

For a complete explanation of Burnett and Evans' approach check out their book, blog, web 
site and/or You Tube presentations. But in brief, the two of them suggest thinking and acting 
like designers to solve nonstatic "wicked" problems by using three ideas -- get curious, talk to people, and try stuff. This last point, try stuff, is enormously important because action 
rather than pondering is rewarded and yields an outcome.

My point is that life is not static -- it is changeable, active, moving, variable with solution 
criteria that keep changing; even so, we must figure out how to go forward. Simple to state 
yet possibly complex to do.

Happy holidays.

                                              Botanic gardens in Singapore 

Possibilities, Perils, and Embracing Retirement

    This guy has his retirement figured out. Beautiful, isn't?
Every so often, a few thoughtful gems land in my email account. This happened recently. Well, the gems did not land recently, I just unearthed them as I waded through long neglected, unread emails.

In my email box, I discovered Mark Moran's (Psychiatric News, July 2015) article highlighting pieces from psychiatrist Glen Gabbard's presentation, Possibilities, Perils for Aging Physicians. Gabbard's lecture, sponsored by the Senior Physicians Section of the AMA, was addressed to the AMA's House of Delegates in July. While Gabbard specifically focuses on aging physicians, I think the gist of his message applies to social workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, clergy, and many others in helping professions and non-helping professions.

 In his presentation, Gabbard makes several points, including that the "practice of medicine is not a job, it's more of a calling," that "the profound gratifications that medicine offers....make aging a challenge" and that the perfectionism, compulsiveness, and an "exaggerated sense of responsibility for one's patients," qualities that make for an excellent physician, can also make "slowing down or retiring difficult or impossible" (Moran, 2015). To this Gabbard adds the kicker, "We have a need to be needed."

Hmm. That last thought cuts true and deep -- the need to be needed.

     In part, Gabbard is pointing out that one's profession and therefore professional identity impact the evenness or unevenness of the transition into retirement.  This, of course, makes sense.  Our talents as well as who we are and what we have experienced combine to draw us toward our chosen careers and can make stepping into the next phase tricky.

    Gabbard, a psychoanalyst, speaks not just to the perils of the transition but also to the upside, the wonderful possibilities of the retirement phase. "Don't postpone" he advises. "The 60s and 70s are a time for harvesting -- spend money on those things you have postponed."
     "Retirement should not be about leaving something; it should be about going to something. Whether you work part-time, not at all, or full time, have a plan about what gives you joy. You have nothing to prove, you have run the race and are no longer in competition."

     Gabbard's points are well made. Move toward something, seek joy, don't postpone (the old live life with urgency idea), and spend time harvesting the fruits of your labor.

     Is this easier said then done?

     Over the years, I'd heard former colleagues suggest that they would "leave their practices feet first," either from financial need or another need and in fact, some did just 
that. Perhaps not quite the approach Gabbard is suggesting.

     However you decide to configure this phase, experts have some suggestions: (Retirement blues: Taking it too easy can be hard on you, Healthbeat Harvard Medical School)

-- Stay engaged since social connectedness is important for health.
-- Find a balance of activities that challenge, like improving a skill or learning something new.
-- Some stress is good, so choose activities that cause you to stretch, but not too easy or too hard.

This year has whizzed by and I'm wondering how I've applied this advice. Guess I'll find out in my next post. Until then, 
Stay calm and carry on 

    Here I am learning something new. And I'm fairly certain when I fell, I stretched something.....does     that count?

Time for a Bed Count and a Review of Peru

When I wasn't paying close attention, we reached a traveling milestone of sorts -- 100th bed slept in since March 19, 2014 when we set off from Chicago on our journey into this new phase. We reached this milestone while traveling in Peru, the topic of this post.
So beyond my eating difficulties (see previous post and the cute, edible Guinea pigs) how was the trip to Peru?

I'm going to answer that question in my usual round-about way because hey, I've got the time.

There were people on our tour who since their elementary school days, after looking at pics of Machu Picchu, had dreamed of visiting Peru and gazing at Machu Picchu. I wasn't one of them. Since I don't remember studying Peru, I was probably busy not paying attention in class or reading Nancy Drew or about Florence Nightingale. Either way, it wasn't my dream.
 Others on the trip considered hiking to Machu Picchu and around the ruins of the Sacred Valley experiences of a life time. I really didn't fall into that category either. As I too soon discovered in Peru, a few ruins, that are basically created from the same look-alike granite, go a long, long way with me no matter how tall, complicated or symmetrically perfect. Not to mention I still itch from those nasty, blood-sucking little flies.

    Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley
    

However, R had long wanted to visit Peru and especially Machu Picchu so in the spirit of marital harmony, I agreed. More than one time over the years, a visit there was on the books and I found a way of wiggling out of the trip.

This time I did not wiggle.

Learning about the Andeans, past and present, was my favorite part of this adventure. I'm amazed that people live in an environment as rugged and in many ways as harsh as the Andes. I loved our peek into Peruvian countryside culture via the "Primitive Market Tour" as our guides dubbed it. I was fascinated watching three adults wrestle a huge pig into a bag for its trip to their village where he would meet his final destiny.  I was captivated in an American-grossed out sort of way by the Andean woman quietly eating her homemade (of course!) cow's head soup with the cow's teeth jutting out of her bowl. While the cloud forest mountains of Machu Picchu are beautiful, the chaotic, dusty, colorful, rural ways were what caught my interest.

   This guy went unhappily and loudly into a bag

    Market, Urubamba, Peru

With that said,

If Peru is on your list of must have life experiences here are a few ideas to consider before heading off --

-- Altitude sickness is a real thing and impacts some more than others. It usually manifests as both middle of the night wakefulness (resulting in fatigue the next day)  and a crushing nighttime and daytime headache. Oxygen, available at most tourist hotels, helps as does Ibuprofen.
-- The trip is strenuous, even if you only hike a mile or so on the Inca Trail. This is the land of stone streets, thousands of uneven, high steps, and soaring elevation. And just so you know, the Sun Gate is about 1 1/2 hours of straight up walking. You'll be visiting ancient ruins not modern structures with ramps and lifts. Wear sensible shoes.
-- During dry season, Machu Picchu is busy since 3,500 people are allowed into the site each day. You will not visit these sites alone, although you may wish you were.
-- Even if your tour guides don't suggest it,  WEAR BUGS-AWAY LONG PANTS (for the uninitiated, these are pants treated with bug repellent). During season, those nasty little flying biting nats BITE! Three and a half weeks post MP my bites, while healing still itch.
-- About half the folks on our trip fell ill at one point or another. Bottled water and a good supply of Imodium and possibly antibiotics, are your best travel friends. Also pack bite stick, hydrocortisone, Calamine lotion, and possibly Benadryl. This arsenal will win you friends and make you more comfortable.
-- Even though the economy and living conditions are much better than they were a few decades ago, Peru is a relatively poor country. Our guides emphasized that Peruvians believe that anyone who travels to their country is wealthy. You may be asked for money to take someone's photo or just because.

One aspect of travel I find wondrous is that different places are magical (or not) to different people. One person's idea of nirvana might be my idea of a ring of hell, or something like that. While Peru wasn't a top trip for me, it was a good one. But it wasn't magical. I still favor cycling trips over walking. However, my analysis of my Peruvian travel left me with a question I'd like to answer but seem unable yet to do so.

How does one balance exploring and trying out new adventures, including some that might disappoint, against sticking with what is known, tried and true, and previously explored?

Thoughts anyone?  Adventure Girl is listening.

Next planned trip -- Asia and the east coast of Australia -- by ship!
But first, someone will have a BIG birthday and we'll celebrate 35 years of ......marriage.
Stay calm and carry on!

   

    Fall in Bend

Beds -- 50+

Why am I counting the number of "gap year" beds? Good question. At first, the count was kind of a game, I guess. Something to keep me amused and interested.  But I could have counted cities visited, countries visited, cabs taken. But I selected beds.

A number of years ago, I completed a dissertation which included data collection and analysis. During the process, I came to appreciate data in a new way. Information can help us describe, understand and explain experiences. So perhaps counting beds is a way of capturing and understanding the year. My husband R has been tracking miles driven. Periodically, he reports our miles travelled (by car only -- not plane, bike, ship, train, or any other mode).  It seems we are both attempting to capture and understand our experiences via numbers.

 No matter, this is how the count began. Our bed in Chicago was old, purchased several states and moves ago. We decided it wasn't worth storing or moving west. Our plan was to dump the bed the day before moving day and sleep one night on our blow up mattress. Problem was the battery operated pump had unexpectedly died. No prob, we decided. We'll just sleep on our bedroom floor. It's carpeted! With a few quilts and all, it will be fine.  This is the kind of bad thinking that comes when people are overwhelmed from making too many decisions, have way too much to do, and have been living the stress generated by an imminent cross country move. R is 63 and I was closing in on 60 at the time. It  had been a long time since we'd slept on any floor. It was getting late and since the movers would arrive by 9:30am the next morning we snuggled down (more like lowered ourselves) to the bed/floor to sleep.

I wouldn't really describe our time on the floor as sleep.  At 2 am we were both awake, hips and backs loudly protesting their treatment. At 2:30 am we were up, drinking the first of many cups of coffee, and by 3 am R was working on packing up the car. Bed #1 is really a non-bed that launched the gap year.

We left Chicago that afternoon, unrested, sore, a little anxious, and excited. After the sleepless night on non-bed #1 any place we stayed would be a step up. That optimistic belief actually did not hold true -- unbeknownst to us, worse beds were in our future. That day in the car, I started the bed-counting-game, tracking the number on my iPhone. Traveling from the Midwest to the west took us through -- Davenport, IA, Kearney, NB, Colorado Springs, Cortez, CO, Flagstaff, AZ, Tucson, AZ and finally Palm Desert where we met up with family and friends. Seven beds. Who knew there would be so many more?

Why count beds?  At their most basic, beds represent rest, a place to sleep. I think tracking beds expresses my restlessness. More beds. More adventure. More cities, countries, experiences.  R likes to say this is our time to "pick up and go." Will the gap year cure the restlessness? Do I want it to?

Keep counting.

By the way, current count -- 53 beds.