Getting The Most Out Of Retirement

Getting the most out of retirement is what this entire website is about.  Inspired by someone who said retirement was boring, I became determined to help people make the most out of this truly wonderful time in your life.  You worked your whole life for this.  Why not enjoy it to the fullest?  It is a time to be treasured and something to be truly grateful for.  How many people do you know who didn’t make it this far in life?  It’s very sad.  I feel like we owe it to them to truly enjoy each day we’ve been given, and I’m determined to make each day count.

Like anything else in life, retirement is something that needs to be planned.  It doesn't happen by itself.  The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.  If you have no idea what you want to do, in five years you won’t have a lot to show for how you’ve spent your time.  If that’s okay with you, then you might very well find yourself with a lot of time on your hands and thinking that you’re kind of bored.  That’s very sad.  So, what’s the secret of getting the most out of retirement?

Getting the most out of Retirement is
Totally Under Your Control!

The answer is as unique as you are.  That’s what I find so intriguing and the reason I started this website because, if you ask me, the possibilities are endless!  Retirement is a time in your life to rekindle old hobbies and interests or develop new ones.  The opportunities to socialize are extensive if that’s what you want to do and, if you’re an accomplished golfer, artist or card player, helping someone else develop a skill in those areas can be extremely rewarding.  For us, travel has been something we’ve enjoyed tremendously.  What we’ve found is that it pays to plan if travel is your goal.  Of course, last minute bargains do exist, but if you want the best accommodation in the best location, being able to plan in advance is critical.  Getting the most out of retirement involves being on the lookout for bargains, being flexible and knowing what you want to do.  Dwight D. Eisenhower’s words about war could certainly been applied to retirement: “plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

Planning always gets a bad rap which I think is very unfair.  When you plan for something, it does not mean you’re inflexible.  Just the opposite is true.  When you have listed out all the possibilities, it’s much easier to make adjustments as you go along.  In my days as part of Corporate America, I was always responsible for planning a project, a conference or even a major upgrade for some part of our operation.  I quickly found out that the better I planned, the more we were able to achieve and the greater the chances for our success.  I have taken the same approach to retirement.  There is always something to do, learn or experience and the list just keeps on expanding.  You develop new interests and there’s always something new to learn.  We’ve found extremely helpful to keep a journal of what we’ve done and where we’ve been and are sure to jot down the questions that occur to us as enjoy new experiences each day.  Inevitably, it leads to ideas for further travel or a new restaurant to try or some new historic site to visit.  Getting the most out of retirement is to make it a learning experience that can be constantly added to and expanded.

Again, I can hear someone saying that this all sounds good but where do you get the money to do it?  My answer is always the same: it doesn’t take a lot of money to be able to learn new things.  And, if you become determined to make your life a constant learning experience, you’ll be amazed by how quickly the days go by and how much you’ve added to your list of things to do.  Learning can be fun and for those people who think that it only involves reading or listening to boring lectures, I say open mind to a new world.  Getting the most out of retirement is opening yourself to something new.  New ideas and places to see.  New people to meet and new things to experience.  Surprisingly, many of these things can be right next door.

Sometimes, the most exciting thing to discover in this process is ourselves.  I am convinced most people go through life without really knowing what makes them tick.  They claim they have no hobbies, passions or anything that gets them excited in life.  They spend countless hours binge watching television series or their favorite movies over and over again.  I have no problem with that if that’s what you really enjoy.  But then don’t tell me that you’re bored!  Don’t go through life waiting to be entertained rather finding a way to be the entertainer!  I don’t mean getting on stage.  I mean becoming a participant rather an observer of life.  Instead of going to a restaurant because they make your favorite food, get in the kitchen and try to make it as good or even better than your restaurant does.  Instead of reading the fifteenth novel by your favorite author, figure out what you like about it and try to write a novel of your own!  Getting the most out of retirement means finally trying those things in life you always thought about.  You’ll be amazed at what happens when you become a full participant in life.  It’s time to try something new.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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