🌙 My Life Is All About Delight
— Six Practical Principles for Living Well in My 70s —
I am now in my seventies.
And there is one thing I know for certain.
👉 I am no longer young.
But at the same time, I also believe this:
👉 I am still capable, active, and curious.
That is why I have decided to make one simple thing the compass of the rest of my life:
👉 Delight.
Not exhaustion. Not endless strain. But the quiet, lasting joy of doing what I love, at a pace I can sustain for many years.
My goals are simple.
To continue working as a translator until age 85.
To continue enjoying amateur radio until age 100.
To achieve that, I have arrived at the following five principles.
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🧭 My Six Principles
1. Let Delight Be Your Compass
For a long time, I believed that working late into the night was my happiness.
I loved the quiet hours, when nothing could interrupt my thoughts.
But I have learned something important with age:
👉 True delight requires enough rest.
Staying up until 3 a.m. left me short of sleep, and no work done in exhaustion is truly satisfying. So I have let that habit go.
Now I ask myself a simpler question about everything I do:
👉 Does this bring me delight?
If it does, I lean into it. If it only brings strain, I let it go. That is my first and most important principle.
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2. Protect Your Sleep — Rest Is the Root of Everything
I now make sure to get enough sleep.
Nothing—not work, not a hobby, not ambition—is worth sacrificing my rest.
👉 A well-rested mind is clear, calm, and capable.
Good sleep is not laziness. It is the foundation that makes every other delight in life possible.
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3. Eat Meat — Don’t Let Your Body Waste Away
Once you reach your seventies, your body naturally begins to decline if you do nothing.
When muscle mass decreases,
* Concentration fades.
* Judgment slows.
👉 Your body is your most important asset.
That is why I make a conscious effort to eat meat regularly.
It is not a luxury—it is an investment in my ability to keep enjoying life and work.
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4. Keep a Steady Rhythm — Protect Your Day
An irregular lifestyle is difficult to sustain at any age.
👉 Keep your wake-up time consistent.
In my case, I wake up at 9:00 a.m.
A steady daily rhythm stabilizes the body clock and provides a foundation for long-term well-being. Structure, I have found, is not a cage—it is what sets you free to enjoy each day fully.
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5. Make Doctors Your Allies — Understand Your Own Care
As we grow older, healthcare becomes an unavoidable part of life.
But the important thing is this:
👉 Do not leave everything to others.
* Respect your doctor’s advice.
* But understand your treatment and make informed decisions.
I also practice a 16-hour fasting routine.
👉 I treat healthcare not as something to fear, but as a system that protects the health I need to keep living with delight.
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6. Accept That You Are No Longer Young — And Choose Your Life Freely
This may be the most liberating principle of all.
You cannot do exactly what you did when you were young—and that is perfectly fine.
Therefore:
* Do not overexert yourself.
* Keep your distance from people and situations that drain you.
* Reduce unnecessary stress.
👉 Remove the sources of exhaustion, and what remains is delight.
That is the secret to continuing—joyfully—for the long run.
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🎯 Conclusion
I am not doing anything extraordinary.
👉 Follow what brings you delight.
👉 Protect your sleep.
👉 Take care of your body.
👉 Maintain a stable daily rhythm.
👉 Make good use of healthcare.
👉 Do not push yourself beyond your limits.
That is all.
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🧠 Final Thoughts
Living a long life is not the goal in itself.
👉 The goal is to keep doing what you love, with delight.
Translation, amateur radio, and life itself.
Rather than burning out through excessive effort,
I prefer to continue steadily, calmly, and joyfully.
That is the way of life I have chosen.
