Article by Vic Wright BA
mytimesmyown.co.uk

I've just read a survey on retirement which, to my amazement, said that almost half of recent retirees are unhappy with retirement. How sad can you get? Much as I enjoyed my working life, I reckon retirement's the best job I've ever had.

Apparently many people miss the structure that working life imposed on them, some miss the company, whilst others complain that they're bored and feel - now that they're no longer working - that they have no purpose in life.
Come on you guys. If you want structure, then impose your own, if you want company get out and meet people – join a club or maybe start your own - and if you're bored take up some fulfilling activity that will give you a sense of purpose. The opportunities are limited only by your own imagination.

The problem isn't so much with retirement as with the strange notions that people have about retirement. There are too many implied negatives. You know the sort of thing – "Oh yes, I retired from engineering (insurance, catering, project management or whatever) a couple of years ago."
Get this into your head. You don't retire from something, you retire to something.
You retired because you want to spend more time with your grandchildren, you retired because you want to catch up on your education, you retired because you want to convert that rubbish tip behind the house into something resembling a garden. Honour your past by all means, but looking to the future and all the opportunities now open to you is more important.

Evaluate your life with reference to your current skills, your physical ability, your financial situation and the time you now have available. What are your goals? Think carefully about it, considering all the areas - your personal growth, your family, your friends, your living environment, hobbies. Is there anything you'd like to do for your community, how about part time work?

Get a piece of paper and write down your goals. Once they're in black and white they become real. Now, decide what activities you need to undertake to achieve your goals.

Make an activity list for each goal and plan your time. Again, write 'em down. But beware. In the throes of your new-found dynamism don't take on too much – don't allocate more than 3 or 4 activities to each goal, and don't try to do everything at once. Also, be sure to program in time for your family and friends.

Having gone though this process myself, there's another tip I'll pass on to you.
Never feel that you've committed yourself irrevocably to your initial set of goals. Review them occasionally to see if you still find them interesting enough to pursue. Keep your Goal and Activity Lists up-to-date. For example, one of the items in my first set of goals was re-learning to play the fiddle and keyboard - but I've found that there just isn't enough time available. Other interests have priority. So that's gone on the back burner for the moment, shelved but not forgotten.

Goals, activities and structure are what give meaning to life, but they don't have to be imposed on you from outside.

Take charge of your life and start enjoying yourself.

© Copyright 2006 Vic Wright. All Rights Reserved.

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