Some people look forward to retirement, some take it as a natural progression of life and don’t have a particular emotion attached to the phenomenon, and some dread it. It depends on how prepared you are for the post-retirement life, and if you have strategies for a joyous post-retirement life.
Why do many people dread retirement? When you start a new job in your young age, you are full of zest and positive expectations. You are embarking upon a new journey. Your entire life is ahead of you. It brims with possibilities. You have a long list of plans. You are energetic. You are enthusiastic. You are looking forward to so many things. Life is a gift that has just arrived at your doorstep, waiting to be unwrapped.
When you retire, as the perception goes, it seems that everything is behind now. You have done your part. The old is being replaced by the young. You are no longer the happening; you are what happened.
There are no expectations. There is no excitement about the unknown. You feel that no opportunities are waiting for you to tackle. You have lost your identity. You have lost your purpose. You are no longer relevant to people. Your colleagues, your business partners, your social connections, everything is gone. People expect you to stay-at-home and just indulge in non-meaningful activities just to pass your time.
The problem is with this perception: post-retirement, you just need to comfortably pass your time without doing anything. If you change this perception, your life can be as meaningful, as eventful, as it has been before retirement. Whether you have already retired, about to retire, or just a few years away from retirement, you need to look at retirement as a new phase in your life brimming with opportunities.
Look at it this way: you spent a big part of your life doing a job. You are disciplined. You have followed a strict regimen. You are resourceful. You are a problem solver. You are intelligent. You are educated. You have years of experience dealing with people and your profession. You are financially sound. Scores of people, including your family, have depended on you.
Your job and designation don’t define you. Who you are as an individual, defines you. You are an engineer not because of your job, you are an engineer because you acquired the knowledge of an engineer. You are a teacher not because of your job, you are a teacher because you have acquired mastery over your subject. Whether you are retired or not, your core identity is YOU, not your designation.
I’m not saying don’t feel bad about retirement. If you feel bad about retirement, well, too bad. It is a reality that you must face.
The difference is, don’t just face it, be prepared for it. Do something that makes your post-retirement life as meaningful as the life you currently have, and who knows? Even better!
As the famous saying goes, you cannot control what life throws at you, but you can always control how you react.
Do you know the story of Arunima Sinha? She was as national level volleyball and football player when a few robbers threw her from the running train. She lost her leg. Even when she was recovering in the hospital, she knew that she was destined to do something great and since she could not remain a player in the conventional sense, she contacted Bachendri Pal. She became the world’s first female amputee to scale Mount Everest in 2013. Since then, she has scaled 6 peaks in different continents and has received several awards and honors.
I’m not telling you this story to motivate you are anything. It is just an example that even when there seems to be no hope, great things can be achieved. You just have to decide.
Here are a few things you can do to live a meaningful and rewarding post-retirement life:
Maintain or improve your daily routine
For many decades you have been getting up in the morning and getting ready to go to office. If possible, maintain this routine. You can move up an hour or so, for example, if you used to get up at 5 in the morning, maybe you can get up at 6 or 7, but get up early and have an early morning routine.
Have a bath. Groom yourself. Have a good breakfast. Go for a morning walk.
Maintain a calendar as if you still have professional commitments. In households, especially in India, you may depend on your spouse or another member of your family when you have breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but as much as possible, have your own schedule.
Find a clarity of what you want to do when you retire
How do you want to spend your post-retirement life? Do you feel that you still have a couple of decades of professional life in you? Can you work as a consultant or an advisor, or even a business coach? What about another profession?
Would you rather spend your time pursuing hobbies (nothing wrong in that)? Do you want to take up gardening? Do you have a patch of land where you can grow your own vegetables and fruits for the family? Are you simply interested in relaxing and enjoying with your children and grandkids? What about starting a neighbourhood club of other retirees and form a cultural group? Do you want to learn a new skill or a new language? How about getting that PhD you always dreamt of getting?
Whatever you want to do, it is very important to have a clarity, so you have peace of mind.
Remain physically active and follow a healthy lifestyle
Whether you want to spend your time enjoying with your family, pursuing hobbies, or donning another professional mantle, good health is of utmost importance. Without health, there isn’t much you can achieve. If you don’t care for your health, you may need to depend on your loved ones even for your day-to-day needs.
You may have seen many people suddenly getting very old after retirement, sometimes even within a couple of years. This is because suddenly they become sedentary. They spend all their time sitting in front of TV or just in the lawn. They expect everything to be brought to them.
Remain physically active. Do household chores. Do gardening. Fetch vegetables and grocery from the market. Do light exercise in the neighborhood garden. Eat healthy. Monitor your diet. Keep your muscles and bones moving. Use stairs instead of lift. Go for walks whenever there is an opportunity. Schedule regular medical checkups. Next How to rediscover yourself after Retirement
Conclusion
How you spend your post-retirement life depends on your outlook. If you decide to spend a meaningful life you will on your own find ways to do so. It is often said that our company decides our behavior. If you think that you are surrounded by people who have a very negative outlook towards retirement, you need to change your company. Seek out people who are very active mentally and physically and look forward to spending a highly meaningful post-retirement life.