Plan to enjoy retirement
Retirement can be a time of your life when you can look back in satisfaction at the life you have lived so far, while at the same time looking forward to a new life, free of the every day fight to exist in the modern competitive world of business, or that of getting and keeping a job. The ever enduring battle to meet expectations is no more.
The only time you had previously enjoyed a similar freedom was when you were a child but even then there were boundaries. You now set your own boundaries. Even if you haven’t been able to prepare financially, you can still enjoy a blissful retirement if you learn to live outside the money orientated world you have just broken free from, and enjoy a blissful retirement if you do the right things.
Become debt free
For a truly blissful retirement, you will need to first make sure that you enter retirement free of all debt. Owe nothing to anyone. It will make your retirement even more blissful if you have a separate income stream to supplement your pension. You may create such an income by partaking in part time work of which you have expertise, or by leveraging a hobby into a paying proposition. Additional income can be generated in many ways and as long as you avoid accumulating debt, you will find you will be able handle any financial hurdle that may come your way.
Keep active
You must also keep your mind active. Your retirement is a good time to read, write, paint, take on mentoring or volunteering responsibilities, and even travelling can be stimulating as you learn new languages, new cultures or just learn to read a map. In fact, anything at all that causes you to think will give you a feeling of security and purpose in the community at large. It is a wonderful time in which you can be joyful and independent at the same time and you will feel you are a valuable member of society but without any responsibilities.
Embrace the future
You must also embrace progress. Before you retired, you were a part of the evolution of progress in the work place. You saw the motor car develop, television that keeps you in touch, computers that let you converse throughout the world as if you were talking to your next door neighbour and mobile phones that are more than just a phone, they are now a complete entertainment unit.
If you continue to stay on top of this progress into your retirement, you will find a life that you would have found impossible to wholeheartedly enjoy previously.
Stay motivated
To have a blissful retirement, you must also remain motivated. Motivation is what gets you out of bed in the morning and when you have no regular work to get up for; it can become too easy to stay in bed that little bit longer each day until it becomes a habit. Whatever it is you are doing, let it motivate you and give you a reason for enjoying life.
Know what you need
Meeting your needs is yet another secret to blissful retirement. Knowing what you need to keep you fulfilled is a profound secret that must be mastered. You can never expect to be happy in retirement if your needs are not fulfilled, so know your needs and go about fulfilling them. Meeting your personal needs is essential psychologically as well as in finding true happiness, serenity and a high quality of life.
Keep planning for your retirement
Planning has always been a part of your life, right back to when you had to decide what to study at school, and how that would prepare you for your future career and allow you to create the life you want. Since that life is now behind you, you will need a plan for your retirement years. Outline what makes you happy and then plan your way of getting there. It might be as simple as planning that around the country trip of a lifetime. Whatever it is that you now aspire to, start your planning on how you are going to get there.
Source : Independent