Active Retirement Living

Life begins at retirement...
Author Unknown

OK, so you are officially retired, and what do you DO with all your retirement years? You want an active retirement, living life to the fullest, right? If you have the right frame of mind, retirement can be a major transition that is anticipated and wecomed with all the opportunities it provides. Plan for a Happy Retirement!

You are at a crossroads of life -- do you work or not? do you break free of the past and go in a totally different direction? do you find another similar job/volunteer opportunity to keep yourself busy in a phased retirement? do you tap into your true self and become your "pre-work" self, more creative (before the "earnings" worries began)? Who are you and what do you want to do for the rest of your life?

Incidentally, do homemakers ever retire? Here are some retirement stories from gals who volunteered their own life stories to help us all learn about how we retire.

REdefine yourself!

100 years ago, the normal life expectancy was age 47 -- now we life 30, 40, 50 yrs in retirement! Life expectancy, today, for a newborn is age 77, with the average female living to age 80 and males to age 74.

How different are Boomers Retirement compared to the last generation? How does age redefine us (some things are beyond our control)? Choose to look at this change in life status as an opportunity and a new challenge -- life changes as we live it and our attitude towards change makes or breaks life, both before and after retirement. If you can't accept change, you are likely to be caught up in the past and the future looks negative. You can control your thoughts and make retirement a wonderful adventure at any age!

Don't Retire --
Instead RE-NEW or RE-INVENT yourself.
Be who you want to be!

You can't wake up the morning after you retire and just lay there.... well, you can but you can't simply opt out of life when you retire. It's just the beginning of the years of freedom!

You are suddenly FREE to do what you want to do daily... get busy and do something!

Malcolm Forbes said:
"Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did."

I think he was absolutely right -- physically and mentally, you can't "retire" -- go for it and RE-NEW! Re-Invent Yourself!

Read the definition of "retire" from the Dictionary: To withdraw from action or danger/retreat, to withdraw especially for privacy, the act of secluding or the state of being secluded. None of those sound like a thrilling retirement life to me!

OK, you are retired, so now what?

Have you done any retirement planning? I have an easy retirement guide to help you think towards retirement living and life after retirement. This is simple, fun advice on retirement, on how to retire, retirement ideas.

Some retirees in one of my online retirement groups sent me this what not to do in retirement list based on many chats they've had... their thoughts to help you not make the same mistakes they did.

This is something passed via email on How to Stay Young!

Did you take an early retirement? Was it a voluntary early retirement or forced retirement due to employer circumstances or disability? There are some fixed retirement age guides that may also help you.

Anxiety and Depression

First, if you are just retiring, you face the BIG retirement decision before you even walk out that door. Second, you just might grieve when you first leave work (and that's why a phased retirement works for so many folks). Yes, your employment, your work personality, can be a loss... even if you couldn't wait to leave your last employer. Just be patient with yourself (or your spouse when he/she retires) and seek help if you fall into a depression.

You are leaving a life behind, your work freinds, your work personality, and starting anew and it's ok to take time to reflect on where you are headed and what you left behind. There is also the issue of being married after retirement (grin!) when you are suddenly together 24/7.

If you just retired under a medical retirement, having a disability and being "forced out" before you were psychologically ready is another start towards a depression. Find something to get your mind fully occupied (besides your illness/injury).

If you've been retired for some time, depression occurs when you don't allow yourself to live a fully rewarding retirement life, or when you lose a partner through

divorce/death, divorce or death have ill health, elderly, unable to do for yourself what you want to do. If you do have a disability, look for small helpful disability aids like Easy Comforts (Miles Kimball Company) to help you continue life as you want to live it! Must you stop driving?

Simplify

Is it true that you no longer want "things" and prefer to grow personally to experience what life has to offer you? Then, downsize and simplify! Many boomers do at this time of life. There are local

Freecycle Groups in every area, you can post emails to the group to give your "stuff" away. Folks can use things you no longer need. I don't mean to give your life away, but clear away some of the clutter and give yourself some room to grow and breathe! It also helps towards an independant retirement.

Affordable Retirement Living

Do you have a retirement income that will support you? Need to make a few simple cuts to help that dollar stretch a bit more? How about another income after retirement? Find your state/county senior department for senior citizen services... they can help you. There are other ways to save a few dollars to spend on retirement activities... frugal living in some areas, might help you play in others!

Where you choose to retire may also help make the retirment transition affordable (now or later). Whether you look at the places to retire or retirement communities (condo villages or low-income apartments)... there are choices available to you if you just look for them.

What if your Adult children need help?

Use your Brain Do you have a hobby or maybe lots of them? Things you've done for years in your off-work hours? A hobby that takes you away from the home might be a good idea too -- for some of the married after retirement issues. I'm not being mean, just trying to say some time away from each other is good for you!

This is a really cool word game, and you help world hunger while you play it!

Many of us want psychological growth, spiritual things. Find a church that speaks to your soul, if one church doesn't quite feel right, try another.

Get books from the library to learn about any topic you choose.

Write letters, journals, your life story.

Take adult community classes. Do some senior travel (day trips via the local community programs or out of state travel with senior groups).

Work or volunteer Take adult community classes. Do some senior travel (day trips via the local community programs or out of state travel with senior groups).

Work or volunteer to keep your skills updated, and the brain functioning. Do you have a skill to share as a mentor under the Retired Senior Volunteer Program? Think about talents from your youth that you never had time for (arts, music, study, writing, painting, fun stuff!)

Do you have the Retirement Living TV channel? Find retirement inspiration there too!

There are lots of retirement magazines to read too!

Friendships

We want less socializing and more close friendships. How important are your co-worker relationships? Do you have a support system away from work? Join a book club from your local library, or some church groups, or call upon an old friend you haven't made time for while you were busy working.Do you want less socializing and more close friendships? How important are your co-worker relationships? Do you have a support system away from work? Pick up that phone, or write a letter, to a long lost Friend... you both separated when work lives and raising families made it nearly impossible to keep up a friendship but you might just renew the freindship again!

Join a book club from your local library, or some church groups, or call upon an old friend you haven't made time for while you were busy working.

Join online groups and find some friendship and chit chat from the comfort of your home.

Structure

Do you need structure in your life -- a reason to get up in the morning? If you are one like that, you might NEED something in your life... part time work, volunteering, some sense of a time table on life. Do some community service -- give back to your community while you are actively able.