Archive for Love and Relationships

The Road to Emotional Recovery Are  you a woman in an abusive relationship? Do you find your friends and family turning a blind eye when you repeatedly cry out for help? Do you feel alone and unable to change your present circumstance?

Deanna Gloyd, Spiritual Response Technique practitioner (9 years), shares her insight and technique for healing from her own personal journey in discovery, acceptance, and healing. Deanna is also a public speaker, spiritual mentor, teacher, and published writer in Loveland, Colorado.

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By Anna D. Banks, GCDF

Couples who are in marriages that have lasted through the years experience comfort, security, and a feeling of accomplishment. However, comfort and security can often also lead to married life becoming dull and couples taking each other for granted. Transitioning smoothly into married life after retirement requires planning. Apart from planning for financial sufficiency, couples also need to clarify matters like what expectations they have from each other after retiring, such as doing the household chores. One of the important aspects of adjusting to post-retirement life together is wives appreciating the fact that husbands lend an active hand in the house. Since retirement means that they will be spending more time together, weaknesses and strengths may become more pronounced. Soon after retirement, it is usual for couples to experience a period wherein there will be an increase in friction, which they must overcome to enjoy a fulfilling life together for the rest of their days. Here are a few tips that will help you to stay happily married even after retirement:

Avoid Criticism:
It is often the case, that in a companionship that has lasted long years, partners have a tendency to think that they can make negative or unkind remarks to each other. After years of familiarity, people tend to speak their minds regardless of the feelings of their spouses. However, irrespective of the length of a marriage, being gentle with each other is an essential element for marital harmony and strength. Gentleness includes avoiding criticizing each other, forgiving each other, being self-disciplined rather than finding fault with each other, as well as being kind to each other. You need to have self-control and an ability to be responsible for your own actions in order to give up criticism. Although this may often be difficult, even so, as you stop being critical of each other, you will find understanding and love growing in your marriage.

Being Best Friends:
Just like you ignore traits in your friend that you might find irritating, you need to look beyond your spouse’s flaws, focusing instead on the qualities that endear him/her to you. This includes giving each other love unselfishly and freely, without feeling that you are making a sacrifice. Having fun together, sharing your feelings and thoughts with each other, and laughing together are important to keeping your retirement life together happy and fulfilling.

Respect Each Other:
Respecting each other as individuals is an important aspect. Although long years of co-existing with each other may result in fewer conflicts, husbands and wives still need to acknowledge the differences that they have and respect them. The differences could even make the marriage more fun and interesting, adding a renewed spark to it.

Become Allies:
Long years of togetherness can make it easier to be a team. Although differences may still crop up, they may not seem as threatening with the growth of commitment and love. Partners can now appreciate each others differing strengths and perspectives. They can also pool each others corresponding traits together and achieve goals that they may not have been able to by themselves. Enjoy, build, and value this unity.

© Anna D. Banks, GCDF

ANNA D. BANKS, GCDF is an adjunct professor at Essex County College, career development and marketing coach, speaker, and author. Anna helps individuals design a game plan for an extraordinary career or business. Since 1996, Anna has helped hundreds of job-seekers, managers, business owners, and sales professionals achieve career success. For more information send an email to Anna@AnnaBanks.com.
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Post a question on this website or email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.


By Anna D. Banks, GCDF

During the period between 1946 and 1964 or between post World War II and the Vietnam War, a significant increase of birth rate was recorded. This generation was called the baby boomers generation.

If you were born within the years 1946 and 1964, you can consider yourself as part of the baby boomers generation. This particular generation is one of the generations that contributed a lot in politics and also to the culture of the United States.

The main cause of the baby boom was the after effect of World War II. In this period, cities were in rubbles and world economies that were affected severely by the war were in need for goods and services. The needs were so staggering that it is considered as the largest in peacetime.

The United States have been providing a lot of money and also services for their allies in order to help them recover from the war. The United States factories which made war materials before began producing peacetime goods and materials for export. Because the United States began exporting goods and materials to the free world to help them rebuild their economy, it led to a very lucrative business and didn’t slow down up until 1958. Because of this growth, education became cheaper and many people began attending colleges and some even took second college degrees. Because of the increase in education and high incomes of families in this period, it made it possible for them to produce more children. Besides, they had enough money and resources for it.

Today, the baby boomers population is one of the largest in the United States. In fact, there were almost 76 million Americans born during the baby boomers period. This means that they represent about 28 percent of the United States population. This is considered as one of the largest in the United States history.

You have to consider that there are now millions of aging baby boomers today who have reached mid-life. Because of the significantly high population of the baby boomers generation, they contributed a lot to the United States. They were the manpower who was also responsible for the increasing economy of the United States. In fact, you can even consider the baby boomers as the economy of the United States.

The baby boomers today also hold a large amount of government offices. In fact, the highest office in the United States already had 2 baby boomers, namely Bill Clinton and the incumbent president George W. Bush.

You have to expect that baby boomers will be on the political scenery for quite some time.

Also, because of the advancement of technology in the medical field, baby boomers are expected to live longer than their predecessors. Today, they now have access to advanced medical technology and great quality health care.

You should also expect baby boomers getting a hold of the judicial system for a long time in the United States. Statistics have suggested that baby boomers will be in political power up until 2010 to 2015. And, the political influence of baby boomers will be around for quite a long time.

Because people age, the government is also concerned about the health care budget for retiring baby boomers. As everyone knows, old age is always associated will illnesses and diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart related diseases. Because the baby boomer population is now in their late 50′s and 60′s, the government is now finding ways to adjust the national budget and dedicate more to health care benefits for retiring baby boomers. Obviously, the baby boomer population is one of the largest in the United States. Because of this, you have to consider the fact that without adjustment in the national budged, there will be shortages on health care financing.

Most baby boomers today are relying on their retirement benefits to provide for their health care needs.

As you can see, the baby boomers statistics on population is quite a large number. You have to consider the fact that baby boomers were one of the generations responsible for the significant boom in the United States workforce and economy.

Expect that society will further be influenced by baby boomers in the future and political views will be one of the fields that most baby boomers will have influence on.

© 2008 Anna D. Banks, GCDF
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Author’s Note:
Do you have any questions about career development or lifestyle changes for Baby Boomers, which you think others, like you, would want to know the answers? Email your questions to me at Anna@AnnaBanks.com.