“Retirement is not a permanent vacation!” is a common refrain of retirees who are succeeding in life after work, and it reflects the need to be active – and actively engaged in – meaningful pursuits during this important life stage. With their work life behind them, retirees often must deal with the challenge of finding activities that can provide them with the fulfillment and social interactions that their careers or businesses once did. And, with Canadians living longer than ever, our “golden years” can potentially stretch over 30 or 40-plus years.
That’s a lot of time to fill and, unfortunately, many retirees who enter retirement with little or no planning around what they will do find themselves eventually without a purpose or mission in life. This can lead to a sense of emptiness, malaise and isolation. “The trick to a fulfilling retirement is staying engaged and energized with activities that bring you a sense of fulfillment, meaning and social engagement,” says life care planning, aging and caregiving issues expert Audrey Miller, founder and managing partner of Elder Caring Inc.
To help, here are five activities that Audrey suggests you can do to “get busy” and help ensure you are enjoying a fulfilling, connected and meaningful retirement:
1. Learn a new skill: From cooking to learning to play a musical instrument, learning a new skill engages your mind and body, while providing joy through the creative and education process. Importantly, it also creates opportunities to interact and engage with others socially, both through the learning process (e.g., art classes) and through group engagements where you practice or display your skills (e.g., a choir or band).
2. Combine a passion with a business pursuit: Love travel? Consider becoming a foreign travel guide, or help others enjoy your own city, location or specific activity. Love cooking? Consider giving cooking classes or guiding others to the best places to enjoy local cuisine. The combination of passion and business – or even doing so on a volunteer basis – allows retirees to do something they love, share that passion, but also to be productive and socially engaged.
3. Purpose-driven travel: Travel is a wonderful thing, but it can also be expensive and arduous over time. On the other hand, purpose-driven travel focuses on actually doing something more substantive while you are travelling, for example teaching English or French in a foreign country, or physically contributing to a charitable effort, like building housing or a school, in an underdeveloped country.
4. Volunteer your time and skills to a worthy cause: Whether through a charity or not-for-profit, a religious organization or a board or community project, providing your time and skills to help others can be a very fulfilling and purpose-driven way of living in retirement. It can also lead to meaningful social interactions that bring mental and even spiritual stimulation and fulfillment, while also providing an opportunity to leave behind a meaningful legacy.
5. A physical, mental and/or spiritual journey: Building a life around your physical and psychological well-being is a meaningful investment in your happiness. It may include physical pursuits that augment the body (but also the mind!), including yoga, cycling, walking and hiking; or, it could include more spiritual pursuits. No matter what the end purpose, physical well-being is critical to one’s mental well-being, and vice versa.
While this list is not exhaustive, it is important to consider how you want to spend your time in retirement to ensure that you remain engaged, active and socialized. And activities can remain part-time or manageable and flexible, allowing a retiree to enjoy the benefits they offer, while still leaving time to engage with family and friends – or, to just truly enjoy one’s well-earned time in retirement, writing your next chapter when and how you see fit.
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