How To Have A Happy Retirement: 4 Secrets From Research

[sengsational]

Any ideas how I can fill my bored spells?

Are you within driving distance of Hinton Airfield? skyschool.uk

My problem with bored spells is lack of mental energy...there are 20 things that got me excited before, and I wanted to do them all, but in a funk, I don't feel like doing any of them.

My somewhat successful strategy is to do a tiny step on whatever excites me the most, even if it's not al all exciting at the moment. It often turns into something else and I'm off to the races. Or not. And I take a nap, LOL!

 

[audreyh1]

Just haven’t experienced bored spells so I can’t identify with that.

 

[Gumby]

Just haven’t experienced bored spells so I can’t identify with that.

Me neither. But maybe I am just easily amused.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Are you within driving distance of Hinton Airfield? skyschool.uk

My problem with bored spells is lack of mental energy...there are 20 things that got me excited before, and I wanted to do them all, but in a funk, I don't feel like doing any of them.

My somewhat successful strategy is to do a tiny step on whatever excites me the most, even if it's not al all exciting at the moment. It often turns into something else and I'm off to the races. Or not. And I take a nap, LOL!

I am the same way. Rarely bored but when I am it's usually an energy balance thing. I've found yoga nidra can be helpful for rebooting my mind/brain and often will feel refreshed and invigorated with energy to get back into the game. I usually listen to one of Ally Boothroyd's guided sessions on YouTube.

 

[Pellice]

Something wrong with floating? There's so much to enjoy in retirement. I am grateful for the sense of expanded time. And for, so far, continued good health.

 

[GaryInCO]

DW and I had 2 kids late-ish in life, and I poured my energy into my family. But then after 20 years of marriage she dumped me. I was devastated. Took me about 2 years to crawl out of the black hole I fell into.

But then I had to try to rebuild my life at age 56. DW was a fairly antisocial hermit, so I had lost touch with most of the friends I had before marriage. DW and I left our jobs when I was 34 and we were both self-employed after that, so I lost the social interactions at work. I joined a couple of Meetup groups, and one in particular really took off -- we met to cook, drink wine, eat, etc 3-5 times a month. But then after about 4-5 years the group fell apart (personality issues) and I couldn't interest anyone in starting a new group. I don't travel a lot because it's not much fun by myself.

In the last 15 years I've joined a bunch of social groups and wasted a lot of time with online dating services, and I still have no romantic partner and no strong social group. Best I can do is participate in various hiking / biking / etc groups, and keep trying to find friends and lovers.

So my retirement is OK but not great. My life is pretty empty and lonely. I'd kill for a loving partner.

 

[Scuba]

We have been retired for 8 years and have allowed ourselves to evolve rather than trying to stick to a plan conceived years ago. We have plenty of interests and friends, so neither of us was too concerned about what we would do after retiring. We love it and never intend to work again!

 

[FREE866]

Love many of these comments here.

Retired at 50 and in January it'll be the start of year 9. When I was working I was never truly "at ease" which is such a gift and can't be overstated.

I now have more time to read books, exercise, meditate, volunteer, eat healthier , get better nights sleep, spend more quality time with our pets, take naps during the day, help out my elderly mom, etc. I'm incredibly grateful

 

[FREE866]

I usually listen to one of Ally Boothroyd's guided sessions on YouTube.

Love Ally.... I listen to her 10 minute Yoga Nidra a couple times a week. I meditate every day. Probably deserves its own thread, but I also like Binaural Beats meditations. Not sure if you've tried those. Very hypnotic.

 

[audreyh1]

Retirement is a time for discovery! (not for just continuing your old life or some preconceived notion during your old life)

 

[big-papa]

I'm only a year and a half into it, so I guess I'm still in the "bliss" stage. Wife left the working world a couple of decades before I retired and pretty much has the whole thing down at this point. I don't miss the working world one little bit and really wanted out probably about a decade before I actually pulled the plug. But I wanted to make sure that of all the things in retirement I could worry about, finances weren't going to be one of them.

Even now, I do spend a lot of time on the financial side, but primarily working towards some simplification goals to make things easier for my wife and, later, our daughter, should circumstances warrant it. That'll probably take the bulk of 2025 to complete.

Beyond that, I have plenty of things keeping both my mind and body busy and, hopefully, those things will continue on as we age. And I have some other things I want to explore as well. We also need to complete a decision regarding whether we'll relocate or stay put... Plenty to ponder.

Cheers

 

[audreyh1]

If I recall correctly that bliss stage lasted a very long time!

 

[doneat54]

Interesting, and diverse discussion. Not surprisingly, everyone's retirement experience is different.

I am a month away from my 8 year FIRE anniversary. I retired 2 weeks before my 55th birthday. Some people ask me "how do you retire at 54?" and I reply, "You decide that is what you are going to do when you are 28, and live a life that will get you there.

DW retired 2.5 yrs ago and remarks to me often how amazing it is. We travel a LOT, and we travel well. Last winter we took our RV from New England to San Diego and back in 75 days (we hiked a total of 100 miles on that trip). We have a great, but fairly small, group of good friends and neighbors, some of whom are former co-workers.

I have never been busier. I lost 24 lbs in the first 8 months after being retired. Unintentionally. I though something was wrong ( I am a cancer survivor also). But it was just that I much more active, on my feet a good part of the day and am eating a little less junk food, and a LOT less food in quantity. It is rare for me to go to a restaurant and not take 1/2 of my entree home.

But nobody who knew me well ever asked me "what are you going to do?" after retiring. One of my former bosses said when I retired from 30.5 years in Medical Technology, "Yeah, work was always kind of an inconvenience for you, wasn't it?". He was right. I generally always liked my job, enjoyed the people I worked with, but it was never my passion or "my life". I used to get annoyed with the term "Work Life Balance". Like they are 2 different things. Isn't work part of your life?

I have never been busier. I have 3 antique cars, have run a hobby/business in the antique car hobby for over 20 years. I hike 500-600 miles a year, love cooking (and eating), and travel and going on other adventures with our good friend, most of whom now are also retired.

Happy? Yes, never been happier. 5+ years ago we bought a lake house as a second home, now we both live here full time. It is an amazing place. Our daughter lives an hour away and we see her most weekends. Enjoying what this retirement portfolio allows us to do is far beyond what I ever imagined it would be.