Having enough money in retirement is one thing but being happy in retirement is a whole different story.
And while getting your money right in retirement certainly aids in your happiness, there are certainly other things to consider as well.
Here are 4 Things that can give us the best chances of a happy retirement.
Don’t Let Fear Control You
Retirement can be a scary thing. Afterall, we kind of got used to a paycheck every 2 weeks and now you rely on pensions and savings.
With news of potential stock market crashes and recessions around every corner, it can be difficult to keep a level head. But with that being said, it is crucial that we don’t let fear dominate our lives in retirement.
While there are many uncertainties in life, we have to focus on the things that we can actually control. We can control how prepared we are for retirement and how we manage our money.
Focusing on controllable things will not only make you happier but also will facilitate progress in many areas of your life.
Maintain Relationships
As we age, it is easy to let many relationships fade away especially if we don’t see people on a regular basis. Retirement only makes this more difficult as we lose our built-in social circle that we had at our jobs.
But relationships are a crucial component of our happiness especially in retirement.
Family relationships are a big part of this as well. One study found that those that lived near at least 50% of their kids were much more likely to be happy in retirement.
Another study found that in the Blue Zones (the parts of the world where people live the longest) a key factor in their longevity is the tight community that the people enjoy with family and friends.
Keep a Schedule
Have you ever been on a vacation where you didn’t have an agenda? If you are anything like me, you probably ate too much, slept too much, and overall just felt unhealthy by the end of the trip.
Because retirement lacks the structure of a 9-to-5, it becomes crucial that we create and stick to a schedule. This makes it much easier to maintain healthy habits throughout retirement.
Face Your Problems Head On
We all have those problems that we really don’t like thinking about. Maybe it’s an area of your life that you have let slip or a task that you keep procrastinating. And as we all know, sooner or later we have to face our issues and the longer we wait the more painful it seems to be.
For some of us it is our health that needs more attention. For others, it is their relationship with their spouse. For others, their faith or their finances.
We all have something and the sooner we take care of it the better our life and retirement will be. And while it may be painful in the moment to address hard issues it will save so much worry and pain down the road.
