What does it mean to find personal meaning in suffering, and how can it help someone endure tough times?

If you could give one piece of advice to someone approaching their 60s, what is the single biggest misconception they have about what 'retirement life' actually looks like?
What causes the brain to "get lazy" and allow sounds to blend into each other, like in the case of "Tuesday" becoming "Choose-day"? Is it just about making speech easier?