Retirement: It's what you make of it

 I had always looked forward to being retired. My work as a psychiatric nurse was taxing, challenging, and tiring.  I did this for more than 27 years and in that time managed to hurt almost every joint in my body; not to mention all the times I was physically attacked by a patient.  Needless to say, I was more than ready to hand that hat up and stay home.  I had prepared some for the inevitable retiring from my job.  I had a 401K that I had added to regularly.  I had a small living expense budget since it was just me and I didn't require a lot.  I pretty much had everything I needed or really wanted before I left work.  I felt I was as ready as I ever would be to retire.

What I did not consider was the lack of structure and how that would affect my mood and body.  You can only sleep so long.  You can only watch TV or play on your computer for so long.  After a very short while, you will become bored.  By leaving my job, I felt I had lost my purpose and my direction in life.  It was a bit disconcerting to say the least.  I quickly learned that I needed some type of an intervention in my life that would help me create structure, give me purpose and bring back my joy.  Big challenge, huh?

Well, I have never been a quitter and I believe that every problem has a solution if you can only reach it.  So, I did what I always do when faced with a problem.  I researched the topic.  I read articles about retirement, retirement planning, what to do when you retire, etc.  I researched scientific journals about the effects of retirement on the person's mood, physical health and activity levels. To be succinct, I read just about everything I could find on this issue.

What I discovered was a brief list of things to do in retirement to live a happy life. The list is not long, but incorporates just about all the issues I was dealing with since I retired.  I hope this short list will help you too:

• Stay active-- as little as 30 minutes a day of mild exercise will keep you healthy.
  
  
  
• Eat a healthy diet--eating a balanced diet is tantamount to maintaining health as we age.
• Get quality sleep--science has found that 7 hours of quality sleep a night is needed to maintain good health and a good mood for seniors.
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  Remain social--maintaining your social connections is so important.  You may lose those connections from your job or you may not, but having other connections will keep you happy and healthy.
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  Maintain a budget--do not live outside of your means.  Hopefully, you have some money put aside, but that should only be used in an emergency.  Make whatever income you get work and be scrupulous in staying on top of it.
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  Consider alternative ways to fill your time--Use your computer to make extra money, go to clubs/social activities, join exercise classes, volunteer somewhere that makes you feel useful, read books or use audiobooks to keep your mind active, try out an old hobby that you let slide or start a new one.
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  Get regular checkups and attend new issues immediately--your physician is your best friend when it comes to maintaining your health.  You need to do everything you can to stay healthy, but if something goes "off" your doctor needs to help you figure it out and treat it at the beginning stage (not when it becomes an emergency).
  

I told you it was short and sweet.  There is nothing on that list that we all have not heard a million times before.  The fact is, staying healthy and happy, no matter where you are in life, requires the same exact things.  We fool ourselves into thinking we need something fancy or special to accomplish this goal, but alas, we just need to get our minds straight and do it.