Retirement blesses us with time to do what we truly desire. We’re free to follow our hearts’ true desire and find joy while doing so. However, finding joy in retirement goes beyond finding a beach house to recline or having more free time than you know what to do with it. Here are 6 important tips for a joyful retirement.
Cut Spending By Budgeting
A lot has been said concerning money and happiness. While money doesn’t equate to happiness, its one vital component for a joyful retirement. A study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College on what makes retirees happy reaffirms the importance of money.
Most people go on a spending spree the minute they get their retirement money and then end up without a penny few months later. You need to budget your money and spend wisely as there wouldn’t be any monthly pay checks anymore.
Maintain a Daily Routine
Indeed one of retirement’s most enticing benefits is the freedom to do whatever you desire. However, it’s easy to fall into an unhealthy pattern which might be detrimental to your health. To prevent this, doctors recommend following a healthy daily routine.
Incorporate all the activities you love into the routine as well as other healthy activities recommended by your doctor. Doing this would help you avoid the feeling of purposelessness most retirees admit to feeling few months into retirement.
Stay in Touch
A study by the University of Chicago showed that extreme loneliness increases a retiree’s chances of early death by as much as 14%. Being retired takes you out of the majority of your social networks and cuts down on the amount of human connection we make daily.
Extra effort should be put into staying in touch with a thriving social community as the effects of extreme loneliness can be deadly. This can be your family, former colleagues, Faith groups, group affiliations, or by community volunteering.
Stay Active
Very different from staying in touch, staying active entails playing a role. It can be in the family, your house of faith or the community. Staying active offers a twofold benefit as it helps you socialize and gives you a sense of purpose. Doctors say both are vital to the happiness and well-being of a retiree.
Stay Fit By Exercising
While exercise is important at all periods in our lives, it’s even more necessary when you’re retired. Exercising the body is important to both your physical and mental well-being. Research has shown that frequent exercise helps wards off several health issues and boosts your energy levels. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) recommends four types of exercise for retirees.
Train Your Brain
Most people go into retirement thankful for the endless hours of free time they’ll have and anticipating just how they’ll spend those hours. Most might decide to pursue an abandoned hobby, read books, or learn new things.
These lofty aspirations most times get abandoned a few months into retirement. However, researchers at the Harvard Medical School have proven several times that tasking your brain has unending benefits. It keeps your memory strong and keeps your brain functioning at high levels.
This can be reading a book, painting, doing puzzles, or learning a new skill. Asides the apparent benefit of tasking your brain, the joy and sense of progress when you chase these pursuits has its own benefits.
You could join a community or group that shares similar passions and enjoy create new social connections. A group has the added advantage of pushing you past your comfort zone which is great for stimulating the brain.
It’s possible to have a joyful retirement. All it requires is some effort to continually do the right thing. When you make these correct lifestyle choices, you’ll be set to enjoy a joyful retirement filled with happiness and purpose.
