Being totally selfish in retirement is fun but not that satisfying

It was inspiring to watch the efforts of the athletes participating in the recent Winter Olympics and it will be equally inspiring to watch what dedicated young people can achieve when the Commonwealth Games are being staged in April.

Their spectacular achievements demonstrate the power of passion and commitment. It’s amazing what we humans can achieve when we put our minds to it. While most of us over-60s are unlikely to be competing in international sporting events, we can utilise the same powers of passion and commitment in our lives to make us happier, more satisfied people.

For many of us, our job, if we liked it, gave us a purpose and goals to strive for. When we retire, our life changes and it’s common for lots of people to struggle finding a purpose, apart from just trying to enjoy themselves. This can be a danger period because without a purpose in life, we can just drift along in a self-centred existence that isn’t very satisfying or challenging and often leads to boredom.

The key to a successful and satisfying retirement is to have a purpose in our lives and to be involved with our community and with life in general. If you currently don’t have any real purpose in your life, it might be a good idea to spend some time thinking about what interests you and what you would like to do with the rest of your life. This is really important if you want to find happiness in this next stage of your life. If you don’t have anything to live for apart from repeating what you did yesterday, the next 20 years can get pretty boring.

Finding your purpose isn’t always easy and you may have to work at it for days, weeks or even longer. Here are a few questions that might help you to get started:

• What is really important to me — what am I passionate about?
• What talents and skills do I have?
• Are these of value in my retirement years?
• What would make me a happier person?
• What creative talents do I have?
• What have I always wanted to do, but never got around to?
• Do I have a bucket list? If not, why not make one.

We have published four books that can help you to really enjoy this next stage of your life. They all contain contributions from a range of experts and have been used by four major superannuation funds. For more details please go to our website, www.retirementbooks.com.au. There’s a money back guarantee if you’re not completely satisfied.

Have you retired? Did you struggle to find your purpose when you did? If you aren’t retired, what concerns do you have about doing so?

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