Retirement Blog | 8-habits-of-very-successful-retirees

November 9, 2021 — A happy retirement is something people look forward to with great anticipation. But just what are the keys to a successful retirement; the things you can do to maximize your happiness and enjoy the fruits of all of those years working? In this article we will try to uncover the secrets that others have used to make their retirements live up to their expectations. We hope our readers will add more ideas from their own experience in the Comments section.

8 keys to retirement succes

Be prepared financially. In poll after poll, the number one fear retirees have is running out of money. So don’t pull that retirement trigger until you have saved the number that will ensure a secure retirement. If that means lining up a part time job, downsizing, or moving to a more affordable home or location, take those steps before you turn in your notice. To help with that, make sure you have developed a realistic budget that balances income and expenses to backup your decision.

Develop a passion. Retiring without a passion can be dangerous to your well-being. Whether it is golf or fishing, volunteer work or helping your family, travel or gardening – find something that makes you can’t wait to get started on when you wake up in the morning. If you don’t have a passion before you retire, try out different things until one clicks. The possibilities are endless. Sandy lives for birding, hiking, skiing, and his grandchildren. Tom hikes and climbs. Gordon exercises, plays tennis, tutors English as a second language, and goes on exotic SCUBA trips.

Be positive. The most successful retirees we have met in our personal experience are all happy people. They don’t go looking for problems, but instead, enjoy solving them. When adversity hits, and it will, they try to see the bright side and work towards getting there. They aren’t the ones that complain about every little annoyance that comes along. In short, don’t be a grumpy old man!

Find a purpose. A great expression we have seen is this one: Retire TO something, not FROM something. In our opinion, people are like working dogs – give them a purpose and they will happily take it on. Our friend Pat volunteers several days a week at a senior center – seeing how she can help these folks makes her smile. Patricia has a huge extended family and constantly finds ways to interact with them. John has a part time business repairing bikes for customers and charity auctions. There are so many great purposes, finding yours is the key.

Be open to new experiences. From Mark Twain: “20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Choose yes over no, active over passive, and adventure over inertia. When a friend suggests a new experience, say yes, and be prepared to enjoy it. Who knows, it might be your new passion!

Embrace family, friends, and new people. In one of our surveys of retirement happiness, people report that their top sources of retirement satisfaction came from having the right spouse/partner, as well as spending time with family and friends. If you and your partner are no longer excited to share the retirement experience together, work on it. Counseling might help. Men in particular have trouble finding and maintaining friendships. So make a goal of reaching out to old friends, and finding outlets that give you a chance to make new ones. People can be a great source of joy you shouldn’t pass up.

Commit to being healthy. We are fortunate that the leading causes of death are now preventable to some extent. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke might not be completely avoidable, but you can do things to improve your odds. Checkups and preventive medicine are key. So are regular exercise, not smoking, keeping your drinking in check, and reducing stress.

Retire when you want to, not according to your birthday. For heaven’s sake, don’t retire just because you hit a number. If you love what you are doing, keep doing it! Likewise if your finances aren’t in order, hang on until you are in better shape.

Bottom line

The keys to a happy and successful retirement are a lot more than just having enough money and finding a great place to retire. At the heart of it, a positive attitude is a whole lot more important to your retirement happiness. It will require commitment, but it is entirely possible with planning and goal setting.

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