An old high school friend just announced her retirement on Facebook. She’s sleeping in, enjoying leisurely coffee and lunch with friends… if every day is like her first, she says, it’s magic! And I agree – retirement is the magic we look forward to after years of hard work. It should be exactly what you want it to be.
Of course, we don’t all want the same experience for this phase of life… And please don’t call it our last phase (that's depressing)! I think retirement should be thought of as just the next stage of life, but the one where you truly get to design your days, months and years. Something to celebrate!
The old image of the retired Grandma, knitting in her rocking chair, babysitting the grandkids isn’t valid for everyone – and perhaps for few these days. While I must admit that I do love knitting, I find I have much less time for it now than when my children were young!
Retired people are starting new businesses, taking university courses and travelling around the world. We’re keeping active, trying new hobbies and physical activities. We’re paying more attention to our diet and our health so we can enjoy our new lifestyle for many years to come.
The first few weeks feel like a magical vacation that doesn’t have to end. But after a successful career, many of us want more. We’re used to the great feeling that comes with achievement, making a difference, learning new skills.
So, don’t just drift along in your retirement or slip into a life directed by others unless that is what you really want. If you’re bored with your retirement life, it’s time to take charge. It’s time to think about change and what you really want for this phase of your life. Take some time to plan your future, think about what an ideal lifestyle is for you right now, make sure you can finance it, then make it happen. Your family may wonder what happened to "Grandma", but let them wonder! Or tell them you just decided to "get a life"...
Like many people, I had a financial plan for retirement, but didn’t really plan what I wanted to do. When I retired, my husband and I went on an adventure – we rented an apartment in Spain for 3 months. After a couple of weeks of sightseeing, though, I wanted a project. I had been thinking about writing a book on my work with women, how I helped them overcome unpleasant menopause symptoms. I wanted to include all the background knowledge I used to understand what was happening and teach women what I did to correct imbalances so they could help themselves. I began writing in the mornings, sitting on a sunny balcony overlooking the Mediterranean, typing on my iPad using only chapter titles as the roughest of outlines.
In two months, I had a first draft completed but I’ve been redrafting it and learning about the publishing industry ever since. I eventually realized that, without a good plan, I’d done it all backwards: I should have learned about writing and publishing first, then started seriously writing. I should have taken some time to plan my writing career.
But I’ve also spent my first 3 years of retirement trying out all the activities I’ve wanted to do but had little time for while working and raising children. Doing more drawing, getting back to my classical guitar, seeing more of the world and learning a new language (Spanish) were all on my list, as well as writing and learning how to write better (which is a major reason I blog!).
It’s quite a long list so perhaps I haven’t had enough time to really delve into each as much as I’d like. I guess I’ve been taking “turns” with each activity. My blog will be 3 years old in June. I bought a book about portrait drawing then practiced until my drawings started to look quite a lot like the subject (fun!). I’ve only been playing my guitar on and off but I’m close to being back to the skill level I had when I was a teenager. And I’m writing this blog from Spain – our third trip here – and working up the nerve to actually start speaking the language after doing 3 years of learning on Duolingo (a free language learning app where you can learn many languages). Time will tell where my true focus will be, if any. I may just keep on enjoying each activity without really becoming an “expert” at any, and that’s OK too.
So, how is your retirement going (or retirement plans, if you’re not there yet)? Are you still driven to learn and do new things? Do you plan to start a second career… to do what you’ve always wanted to do? Or does simply spending time with family make you happiest? Only you can decide.
There are no wrong answers – that’s the best part of retirement – as long as you take advantage of this new beginning, this opportunity to change tracks, if that’s what you want. The important thing is to stop for a moment, give it some thought and make some plans while you have the chance!
Interesting link:
Free language learning app: Duolingo.com
