What’s wrong with retirement? Just about everyone I know is thinking about it, talking about it, and/ or doing it.But, it turns out that retirement can be bad for your health and longevity if you approach it the wrong way.
From Harvard Health: “For years, researchers have been trying to figure out whether the act of retiring, or retirement itself, is good for health, bad for it, or neutral.”
This article summarizes a vast amount of work Harvard researchers have been conducting over many years. They point to four key elements that seem to be important in making retirement healthy and rewarding:
- Forge a new social network.
- Play.
- Be creative.
- Keep learning.
These are all good ideas, especially if you’re finished with your 9-to-5 job. But what if you’ve got a few years to go in the job?
You can ramp up your health and longevity right now …by examining one fundamental question:
How much do you feel valued? A little. A lot. Not at all. Don’t look to others for the answer. The answer must come from within. And if you’re not completely happy with the answer, you’ve given yourself invaluable insight.
Not sure what is meant by “self value”? Here’s a good explanation in Psychology Today.
Now you know what you must do. Look for the best ways, the most fun ways …to increase the value you feel for yourself and others.
Examine what you’re good at …what gives you wonderful feelings of accomplishment. Start doing more of that. Even if you don’t see how to make money in the doing of it.
“Refire! Don’t Retire” by Ken Blanchard and Morton Shaevitz is a quick read, and could be very helpful in your quest to “refire”. You can buy it on Amazon Prime for $5.
Here’s a USAToday interview with the authors.
So, don’t wait to retire before you refire. Start looking for ways to increase your value and healthy longevity …right now.
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