My Current Status on 8 Habits for a Happy Retirement (found on Kiplinger)
I know I’m several years away from Financial Independence. I can calculate my investments, and will eventually get to a point where work will be optional.
However, I don’t know how exactly I will spend my time and energy when/if I finally do retire. In addition to observing people around me that have actually stopped working, I like to picture myself retired at times, and consider what my life may look like, and what I will focus on. Scout has really helped me to consider this other side of retirement lately as well. When I saw the headline from Kiplinger “Eight Habits For A Happy Retirement” by Jacob Schroeder come across my news feed, I figured I’d take a look.
Although I know that retirement is unique for every person, I do want to have a successful and happy retirement, so these types of articles do catch my eye. The description for each habit is worth a read, but I’m just going to list the headlines and give my initial take on where I am for each one.
- Happy retirees work at staying healthy.
Health is something I am currently and will always need to work on. I enjoy being physically active, but I sure do stay sedentary for long periods of time at my job. Between now and retirement I really need to make sure that as I age fitness becomes a larger focus in my life. Same goes with food. I enjoy eating healthy food… but I can also overeat and throw in unhealthy snacks. As I focus more on fitness, I may need to also modify my diet to give my body what it needs to be healthy.
- They foster strong social connections
Here is another area of my life that I need to focus on. I have a wonderful family and extended family. I also have a few great friends that I get to spend time with every now and then. I spend the majority of my days working both alone and with colleagues. I enjoy working with my coworkers, but there’s no guarantee that they will continue to play a big role once I retire. I will need to develop some additional friendships over the coming years to make sure that I stay socially connected to others during the future decades of my life.
- Happy retirees find a clear sense of purpose
I don’t know exactly what kind of work and/or volunteering I’ll be doing, but I do look forward to trying a number of things out. There are several ideas related to current work that I do, volunteering to help teach others, and several other ideas. I might try some of these before I fully retire, but I’m definitely not going to commit to anything in the near future.
- They never stop learning
This I can get behind! There is so much that I don’t know and that I’m curious about. I look forward to taking some time to read, watch, and probably sign up for some classes on various subjects I like to learn about.
- They train their brains to be optimistic
I do try to be a somewhat optimistic person, so I should be able to continue to keep this habit in retirement. I do realize that attitudes can shift when you have a big change in life, so I’ll need to be sure to focus on this aspect.
- Happy retirees practice mindful gratitude
I haven’t spent time journaling, but I do spend some time reflecting on gratitude, and can see how this may be a good habit to get into. This is something else I should probably look into and consider practicing on a regular basis.
- They have a furry or feathered friend
I have enjoyed the company of dogs and cats over the years. I can see this continuing. The only annoying thing is having to leave them when going on vacation. Luckily we’ve found good care, so this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
- One thing to avoid – [Don’t Prioritize Happiness]
How interesting! As with my post from July of 2024, I have tried to make big decisions in my life based at least partly on bringing myself and others happiness. It’s worked out well for the most part, however after reading the explanation in the article, I can see that this is something I may need to think more about. It sounds like focusing primarily on happiness can result in disappointment. Rather, focusing on the earlier mentioned habits should help bring about happiness.
Thoughts
I appreciate articles like this, and hope to consume related content going forward. I enjoy looking at spreadsheets and calculations, but don’t take enough time to consider all the different aspects of having a well-rounded life going into retirement. I, like everybody else, will need to focus on some of these suggested habits more than others, but I think this is a good overview. I can see several of these topics turning into individual posts in the future as I hope to dive into some of this content more.
Links/Resources
Reader Questions
- Do any of these retirement habits hit home or seem irrelevant for you?
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