Just remember, “you ain’t done yet”.
I have many ideas of what you can do so you are not bored in retirement. Let’s get busy.
Have a purpose
DO NOT retire from life. Retirement effectively gives you an extra 40 hours of life, plus whatever commute time you used. Now it’s your turn. Enjoy this new phase of life. You’re the boss now, and in charge of your own time-management. You have a whole new opportunity. Take classes to learn a new task or just to keep your mind stimulated.
Financially
Your knowledge is power and that power is worth something. Feel free to either volunteer at your local campus, or online. Beyond volunteering is the chance to make a little extra money, We all know our standard of living will change once we retire, but we can take the edge off the finance hit if needed.
Mentally
Let’s take a moment to reflect on our mental state now that we have retired. Does this mean we are now considered “out-to-pasture” NO, our NEW life has just begun. Make it whatever you want it to be. You are free to chart a new course in your life. You have passed the test of survival and proven your worth. You managed to succeed in life and you made it to the next level; retirement. You don’t need to prove anything to anybody ever again. So don’t feel lost or unworthy, or have a sense of non-worth just because you moved-on from your previous endeavor.
Become a Tutor
You have acquired years, upon years, of what I call “Tribal Knowledge”. This Tribal Knowledge is like money:
- Just like money, you can’t take it with you.
- If you have it, flaunt it, and cash-in
Realize the value of your knowledge. You have gone beyond any “book learning” or college course. You have come from the trenches and survived. You have the power of hands-on experience and knowledge. Book learning can only go so far, and never really taps into real life, day-to-day experiences you have encountered and overcome.
I researched a few online tutoring sites and came up with a short list to get your juices flowing:
Create an online course:
Create an online video course and earn money by teaching people around the world. On Udemy, You decide what to teach, create the curriculum using their software, and they help students find you. Whatever you’re an expert, you can be a teacher.
I like the idea of working from home. Creating my own content and mentoring others online through emails and chats and zoom meetings. The freedom of retirement is that this time, I CHOSE when and where.
Take some time to restore your mind, body and soul from what was stripped from you during all those working years. Maybe you’ve been conditioned to trudge along, being led and told what to do year-after-year. Now is the time to turn that around. Remember, you are the boss. If you want to go for a walk; go for a walk. If you want to take a long lunch; by all means, take a long lunch. If you want to just close your eyes and shut-down for a bit in the middle of the day, shut-down, You really don’t owe anything to anybody. You need you now.
Currently, I build websites. I have three websites that I am building. You can see them listed toward the bottom of this article. In conjunction with building my websites, I have the opportunity to interact with others who are in the early stages of building their websites. The platform I use and interact through is Wealthy Affiliates. It’s free to get started, but I have opted for a higher experience, because this an interest and a hobby that keeps my mind occupied for hours on end. The support I get and can provide to others is beyond what I ever expected.
Goals vs Challenges
Goals, goals, goals. I’m sick of goals. We’ve spent 50, 60, 70 years or so setting goals. Notice above that I used the word “challenge” instead of goals. That’s right, time to make challenges of the ideas and things to do in retirement. We’ve already met the goal of living long enough to get here. Now let’s challenge ourselves to have fun and do what we want to do.
NO MORE GOALS – “Been there, done that”
The way I see it. Challenges are not goals. Challenges are everyday things to do. Every day, I sit down with my morning coffee and do the crossword puzzle of the day on a game site I like. It’s not a goal to do this, that would take all the fun out of it. It’s a challenge. A challenge to keep my mind active, alert and to also conquer the daily puzzle. Having a challenge is much more fun than having a burdensome goal.
Pickle Ball
Pickle Ball is the new fad in my area, and as I understand, many areas now too. In fact, my small farming community build a set of four Pickle Ball courts in the local park. I might give it a try. It looks a lot like tennis only with a smaller ball.
Do something – Have a purpose – Challenge yourself!
What are you doing in retirement? What ideas can you pass along to others?
I would love to hear from you and I will share your ideas and doings in future articles.
If you like what you see here or have a suggestion. Leave a comment below. I’d like to hear from you.
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peace, love and vanilla candles,
Happily Retired, Rick Zepp