Not Retiring - Living your Next Chapter
Time While Retired – What to do?
So many people have the ultimate goal in life. Retire! It is a topic that so many talk about as an aspirational goal as well as a solution to the day to day that is so challenging.
For a minute think about your last vacation. How many days of that vacation did you feel fulfilled, and how many days were you starting to think about getting home? The days when you were thinking about getting home are the ones to really analyze – these are the same days you will have when you retire.
Often times folks have a bucket list of activities, trips, projects, lunches, dinners, that they want to do as soon as they retire. Many times, this list is complete within the first few months of retirement and folks are left to live out their days and weeks and years with less satisfaction than they expected.
What to do? Well, enjoy the now! We are here doing it so why not? Successful retirement needs to be given serious thought. View your life in chapters. It is okay to imagine doing something new and different in your retirement chapter. Build and manage a vegetable garden, be semi-retired, start a new job that you were always curious about but didn’t have the money or time to do it. In a recent study from UCLA Gen X Program, a multigenerational volunteer program, the volunteers experienced a combined weight loss of more than 100 pounds, improved mobility and stamina, increased social interaction, 50 percent have increased their number of exercise days by a minimum of one day, 75 percent have increased their daily activity level by 20-40 percent, 60 percent have increased their intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, 20 percent report feeling happier and more satisfied as a result of their participation in the program.
So the question is how do we continue to find meaning and purpose in life? How can we be intentional about maximizing it? The Top 5 things to consider are:
when I am retired will have have a way to create daily goals (through social interactions, exercise, hobbies, or work),
will I have a way to hold myself accountable,
am I comfortable seeing myself in a new chapter in life,
is my partner and/or friends comfortable with seeing me in my next chapter in life & will they support me in this journey,
am I ready for something completely different - if yes, what will it look like? if no, how do I get there?
Just to be staggering, there are many studies that document the link between later retirement and longer life. The earlier people retire the more likely it is that they will die earlier. Its important to understand why one might want retirement and then make a reasonable plan to make that happen. If it is purely because of job dissatisfaction - retirement is not the answer.
