There’s something about the word ‘retirement’ that has negative connotations. It evokes a sense that you’re ‘retiring’ from life, ‘retiring’ into a waiting room where the only thing to look forward to is death.
To truly thrive in life, you need to have a sense of purpose, a reason for getting up every day. For millions of people, retirement takes away that sense of purpose. In fact, in one study of 5422 individuals, those who had retired were 40 per cent more likely to have had a heart attack or stroke than those still working. In fact, on the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, retirement is ranked 10th out of 43 of life’s most stressful events – more stressful even than being sacked from your job!
Change your mindset around retirement
One of the most significant ways in which you can help yourself as you approach retirement is to change your mindset around the event. While the superficial thought about retiring is focused on the fact that your day will no longer be governed by your job, you’ll have more time to do what you want; the reality is that feelings of depression can often quickly kick in. These are related to the fact that:
- You no longer have the status and importance of your role and position in an organisation, which can reduce your own self-esteem levels
- You are no longer consulted for your expertise and experience, again adding to a lowering of your self-esteem
- The structure of your day is removed, leaving you possibly flailing, with empty stretches of time
- You are no longer interacting with other people on a daily basis, which can lead to an increased sense of loneliness.
- Retirement is associated with being ‘old’, which could lead you down that mindset of becoming ‘old’, which starts to affect you physically and emotionally
Massive Effort
Retirement literally happens overnight – one day, you reach your last day at work, and the next day that’s it. You’re retired. You have no obligations. The first few weeks may feel good, but the reality soon starts to kick in. You need to make some changes to your lifestyle, and that takes massive effort.
It is important to acknowledge the effort you need to take, and that it is not all going to be plain sailing, and there are going to be many bumps in the road along the way. And there may be some major changes that you have to decide on in order to move forward with a greater sense of purpose and direction. Some decide to sell up their main property and seek a cheaper alternative, for example living in a static caravan to release capital and enjoy the fruits of their working life. Sometimes such major changes are an ideal prompt to make readjustments to a previous way of life.
Starting a new business
Retiring from life does not necessarily mean that you have to retire from the working world. Are you a frustrated entrepreneur? Do you harbour a long-nurtured business idea, or do you have a passion that you want to turn into a profession? The internet has a myriad of exciting ways in which you can start up a business for very little cost, and enjoy the process of building sales without the obligation of earning a living.
Plan a trip around the world
And, of course, with retirement comes the freedom to travel wherever you want. Make sure you plan your first trip to coincide with your first few months of retirement, to help you over the initial hump of adjusting yourself to your new way of life.
