Still in mid-life, retirement can seem a long way ahead, but time spent on future thinking now can lead to a more fulfilling later life. It’s not just about savings and pensions but how we want our later life to be.
Are you an optimist?
Right now, we can reflect on our levels of optimism. Among the most crucial qualities for a successful retirement is a proactive disposition, marked by initiative, self-determination, and a dedication to exploring new things. These individuals often flourish in retirement, cultivating enriching new routines and fostering meaningful connections. Optimistic individuals typically encounter reduced levels of anxiety and depression, contributing to a longer lifespan—extending by over seven years, research suggests!
Purpose and identity
Whilst initially our focus can be on a ‘big holiday’, house renovations and more time with the grandchildren, many of us will want to focus more on what will bring us meaning and more purposeful activity. We can now pursue passions and interests that were sidelined during our working life.
Much of our identity as an adult comes from our work: who are we without our job? Researching this topic in my 60s for my PhD, Helen said that people would refer to her as ‘Helen used to be a Barrister’, and she would be frustrated. She was now focused on finding out more about local history, and that was her new identity.
Meaningful activity
There is a difference between being busy and meaningful activity. I see the ages of 60-75 (approx.) as a golden time for many. Whilst appreciating that not everyone remains in good health (I have a dodgy knee!) we can decide on how to spend our time.
Once we get our state pension we can have more flexibility, money may no longer be the driving force, but we may want to continue to generate some income – this could be part-time working in what we did before, or time to focus on a new career path that brings us joy and meaning. For others, it could be volunteering, a focus on a hobby or interest, or to learn something new.
TIP: what will bring you joy and meaning? Take some quiet time, sit in a park, or in a favourite coffee shop and start making a note of things you have enjoyed in the past, or things that fascinate you now. You can keep adding to the list and explore more. One option may be just right for you, you may want to add something else, or it could be that now you have looked deeper, you are no longer interested, so cross it off your list.
Giving Back
As we get older, giving back (It’s called Generativity by Erik Erikson) can become more important. This could include volunteering at a local school or community group, being a mentor to young people moving on from care, or those starting out in your profession, or looking more into your non-financial legacy. This can include emotional, knowledge, community and environmental.
Our emotional legacy includes strengthening relationships, building memories and sharing life lessons. Knowledge legacy can involve mentoring, documenting experiences and continued learning. Community legacy is engaging in local activities, volunteering and giving back and creating lasting community impact. Finally, environmental legacy can include sustainable living and passing on eco-conscious values.
Stories can be valuable and we can pass on life lessons to a younger generation through teaching values, creating traditions and sharing anecdotes.
Social Connections
Friendships are vital to our social wellbeing and can have a direct impact on our physical and mental wellbeing. Many of our friends are gained through the workplace, once we leave, we can lose touch with these people. Choosing activities where we meet people and joining groups can be helpful.
Loneliness can reduce our life span by 9 years and has as much negative impact on our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day so it is important to nurture our friendships and to look to develop new ones, ideally across generations. It is worth taking stock to ensure we have people in our lives who: (1) share an interest with us – we can do a hobby together; (2) someone with whom we can talk through a problem, (3) someone who brings fun and (4) to be on the look out for new friends.
When we are working, much of our social activity is planned and structured. When we have more time, it is easier to be spontaneous and just hang out, even sending a text to let someone know you are thinking of them can be beneficial to you and them.
Prioritising our health
Later life brings home the importance of our health; most of us we want to keep flexible and strong. Walking, going to the gym, paying more attention to what we eat, seeking to minimise the medication we are on become key objectives. We can link this with the other areas: go for walks with friends, and set ourselves the objective of running via the 0-5k app or something more challenging. Better health means that we have more energy to pursue our passions and interests. But it’s not just being busy, we need time to rest and time just ‘to be’ too.
Personal growth and learning
Learning is both intellectually stimulating and involves creativity and curiosity. What would you like to learn more about? It could be related to some work idea, another language for future travel plans or a deep dive into some passion. There are online options or local colleges and universities. Why not look at the prospectuses and see if anything fascinates you.
Retirement is not a time to fade away but a bright future to live a life full of joy and meaning – let’s embrace this together!
This article appears in the May/June edition of Liz Earle Wellbeing. It was written for people in mid life, where retirement is something in the future, not the immediate future.
Speaking as an 82-year-old, I am not sure that people in their 50s – or even in their 60s – can imagine being truly old. You know it is coming and you suspect you won't like it, but it is hard to get beyond that. Personally, I love being old and wouldn't go back (perhaps to my 60s, when I had more energy) and although I had very meaningful work all my life, I find life more meaningful now. If anyone is interested, I wrote a book about liking being old called The Granny Who Stands on her Head: Reflections on growing older, the first part of which is the same as my Substack title. What do I like? the confidence, the total sense of self, the wonderful relationships with grandchildren and stronger relationships with other people, including my husband of 60 years.