You’re Retired – Now What?

Retirement is a bittersweet thing because while you are kicking off a whole new stage of your life you are also closing the door to another one. And as it turns out, not everyone handles the new freedom very well. Believe it or not all that free time can prove overwhelming for some, especially those who really loved their careers. Many people go from being busy and on the go all the time to all of a sudden having nothing to do and no place to go which can be very, well, depressing. So before you find yourself in that situation you should consider how you’ll handle the retirement blues and what you can do with your time once you get your send off at work.

Being retired doesn’t have to mean lonely days spent staring at the walls, nor does it mean having to have the early bird special at the local senior’s center. As a matter of fact there is no reason why you can’t enjoy a full and even exciting existence as a retired person! This is actually a great time in your life because after years of work you can finally devote your time to doing all the things you’ve always wanted to—even the stuff you thought of as a teenager. Take a moment to think back to things that you always wished you could do but never had time. Think back to days where you’d be daydreaming of what you’d rather be doing than sitting in traffic on your way to work. Shopping? Writing fiction? Taking a forensics class?? Skydiving??? Nothing can stop you but you when you’re retired.

The great thing about retirement in this day and age—aside from the billions of channels should you decide that you want to spend the first few weeks catching up on television—is everyone’s attitude towards seniors and retirement. We really are in an age where 50 is the new 40 and 60 is the new 50 and so on. The world is your oyster with a 15 percent senior’s discount! There are adventure vacations and tours for the fifty-plus crowd, great places to take salsa lessons and dozens of dating sites dedicated to those over 50. Retirement is what you make it so give it some serious thought, think of what you want to do and get out there and do it. And, even though the word ‘work’ may not be one that you want to hear once you’re retired I should be mentioned that you can opt to work during retirement if that’s what you want. Many people work part time during retirement with some going back to their original place of work while others venture out and try an entirely different field once retired. As long as your finances are in order, you don’t really have anything to lose by trying something new now that you have the time to do so. So what are you waiting for? Good times await!