Rethinking Retirement

Discovering Your Next Adventure

Photo by Robert Koorenny on Unsplash

At some point, every person will retire or be retired from their paying, 9-5, go-to-the-office-daily type job - but what will they do then? Have they considered plans for the next 10-20 years? Not many, I’d guess.

What We Did With Retirement

In my 40s, retirement was not on my mind; I was just getting started—my children were in their teens, and it was time. Even in my 60s, it was not a priority because I always had another avenue to pursue. I went from managing an elementary school library to teaching psychology courses online, with many detours along the way.

Dan, my husband, and I officially retired in 2006—me for the second or third time—and moved to Olympia, Washington, to spend time with my brother and his wife. We planned to go boating, travel, and play together. However, we were bored after six months and missed our children, grandsons, and blue sky.

I tried volunteering, and Dan spent plenty of time on the computer. Even in October, it was too cold to go boating, and we couldn’t always travel. Moreover, daylight and sunshine were less abundant during winter, so we were indoors - a lot.

When offered full-time online jobs, we both eagerly said yes and worked at them for about 10 years until dementia got in Dan’s way. Then, my job became caring for him - until he died of COVID.

Surprisingly, I discovered another career—writing—which serves me well in many ways. I’m more knowledgeable because I research new topics, have an opportunity to express myself, and meet new people. It also helps me heal from the loss of my lifelong partner.

Other Things To Consider

However, aging well after retirement involves more than what we do; it also involves how we think and view the world. So, let’s look at a few additional thoughts.

Sage-ing

Experts suggest that people who live longer can offset physical losses by offering their experience, mature judgment, and wisdom to others. Some refer to this as sage-ing, harvesting one’s wisdom and finding ways to transmit it as a legacy to future generations. This newsletter gives me a format to do just that.

Satisfaction

A study of 14,000 adults over age 50, co-authored by experts at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that people who were most satisfied with aging had a 43% lower risk of dying from any cause over four years than those who were the least satisfied. 

The study also found that people who were more satisfied with the aging process were at lower risk for conditions like diabetes, stroke, cancer, and heart disease. They had better cognitive functioning, were more likely to engage in physical activity and less likely to have trouble sleeping, were less lonely and depressed, and were more optimistic.

Purpose

Dan was a perfect example. He managed reasonably well with daily life and his job during the early stages of dementia. But when they asked him to retire, he lost his purpose - his reason to get up in the morning. Still, we were getting by. But then came COVID - he couldn’t get out, no one came to visit, and he had nothing to do but take walks and do jigsaw puzzles - he lost his will to live.

My path is through writing, but there are many options, such as volunteering, consulting, helping neighbors and family, caring for grandkids, or getting together with friends to learn a new hobby. The point is to have a plan or idea of things that will interest and challenge you after retiring.

I would tell anyone who asks three things.

1. Consider preparing for after-retirement just as you did for a work career.

2. Have a plan that excites you rather than just taking what comes. There are potentially years to live after retirement; what you do with them is up to you.

3. It might be a good idea to begin making choices accordingly, whatever the plan.

I’d love it if you could share the Aging Well newsletter with others. I want to share the lessons I’ve learned through the years of life and caregiving with as many people as possible. More than anything, I want to continue expanding our community of readers.

Thank you for being part of the Aging Well community.

If you want to contribute to my work, consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association. This link takes you to their website. The choice is yours.

Janice Walton is a psychologist, widow, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and writer. Her book Aging Well: 30 Lessons for Making the Most of Your Later Years is available on Amazon, and she has written articles for Substack for four years.

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