We totally understand the intense need to relax once you hit retirement. It's more than just an impulse; it's like your body gears up to finally take a long-awaited break. However, old habits can die hard.
It's easy to fall into a routine of keeping up with colleagues and those you once worked with, attending social events, or yielding to a temptation to fill your days with menial work to keep busy.
If you're looking to restructure your life to fit the new norm of your retirement, there are a few things you should avoid and some you should say goodbye to in order to truly enjoy the retirement you worked for. Don't worry if you don't know where to start. We've got the top items and obligations you'll want to skip over for a happier, healthier retirement.
1. Social Activity
It can be tempting to accept every social engagement that comes your way once you retire. After all, what will you fill your long days with but luncheons with friends, golf, and anything else that suits your fancy?
The issue here is that it can be incredibly costly and exhausting. Retirement is about enjoying a slower lifestyle: sleeping in, starting your mornings slow and easy, enjoying the occasional social call, and catching a late-night movie because you can. If you've packed your schedule with social activities that you aren't genuinely excited about, start cutting them out for some quiet time and later mornings.
2. Saying “Yes”
Like number one, saying “yes” to everything will make you miserable. Someone once said, “If you can't say ‘no,’ you can't truly say ‘yes.’” Saying “no” to things that don't light you up allows you time for things that really do.
Try to avoid saying “yes” every time someone asks you to attend an event, go out to eat, or join them on a mini-vacation. Stop agreeing to activities and responsibilities that you don't want to fulfill.
3. Negative Self-Talk
Richard Bach once said, “The most dangerous lies are the ones we tell ourselves.” As humans, we are often our own worst critics. We overanalyze and doublethink our choices until we're not sure which way is up.
Your mindset and the conversations you have in your head can tear you down faster than any insult from family, friends, or strangers. Elevate your routine with meditation and gratitude work. Clearing your mind regularly and remembering what you are thankful for will clean out the cobwebs and help you take a more positive perspective on who you are.
4. Uncomfortable Clothing
Life is way too short to be purposefully uncomfortable. When you shop, buy clothes for comfort and style. Buy shirts you enjoy putting on and purchase pants you can't wait to pull from a drawer. Pick out shoes that make your feet sigh when you slip them on.
When you're retired, you have every right to dress to your comfort and fashion sense, no matter what anyone else thinks. Support brands you enjoy wearing and pack your wardrobe with everything you love.
5. Others’ Opinions
You have to stop worrying about what others think, just like you should stop your own negative self-talk. You will never please everyone; trying to will only make you miserable and exhausted. Carve out time for activities and events you love; support causes that light you up; and frequent shops that sell what you want to buy. If you gain a critic, just tell them you'll care about their opinion when they pay your bills.
We have this one life to live, and no one expects you to walk on eggshells because you might offend someone. Enjoy your life and those you love, and let the day worry about everything else.
6. Ignoring Mental Health
In the past decade, mental health has come to the forefront of society, and for good reason. Tied to that negative self-talk, your mental health should be an absolute priority, much like fitness. Your days should start with your mental and physical well-being on the agenda. Get a good workout, spend some time in deep meditation, list what you're grateful for and quiet all those noisy thoughts.
Focus on your mental health and schedule mental health days into your routine so that those negative thoughts won't get too loud and drown out the truth.
7. Skipping Water
I am not a lover of H2O. However, as I've started focusing on my physical and mental health, I've learned just how much my body needs it. So, to facilitate better physical results, I've cut my coffee down to one large cup in the morning and water the rest of the day.
My husband is a sweet tea drinker, and while he doesn't drink water so much, he doesn't oversweeten his tea, either. Whatever you like to drink, if you're not getting enough water, you're hurting your body. As many as 40% of seniors may be chronically dehydrated. Dehydration can cause a range of symptoms, from mild dry mouth and fatigue to low blood pressure, confusion, difficulty walking, and even convulsions. Find a way to incorporate more water into your diet, and if you can't stomach drinking it, eat foods like cucumbers or zucchini, which contain tons of water.
8. Neglecting Your Health
No one really likes visiting the dentist, doctor, or eye care professional. However, we all like having healthy vision, teeth, and bodies. If you're skipping your regular checkups, you're like a walking timebomb for bad issues.
Take some time this week to schedule checkup appointments, and if you don't like to go alone, ask a friend or family member to accompany you with a promise of lunch or dinner afterward. You can turn something you don't like into a positive experience by spending some time with a loved one. It's a win-win.
9. Sleeping Too Little
Oh, I love sleep. I took afternoon naps all the way through kindergarten, and even in my adult life, I've embraced a good afternoon nap during different times in my life. If you can't sleep well at night, be sure to give yourself some rest during the day.
Sleep is crucial to give your mind and body rest. It helps power down all your systems, promotes health and healing, and leads to an overall enjoyment of your life. So, if you need more, rework your schedule to make up the difference.
10. Low Quality Food
Few people would turn down a burger from their favorite takeout place. However, try to make it a once-a-month deal. Low-quality food is like feeding corn to a cow. Sure, they're going to get fat fast, but the quality of the meat you get isn't nearly what you could have if you fed a cow on grass.
The same is true for your body. You can certainly eat garbage food, and you'll feel exactly like what you put in your body. Or you can eat higher quality food and fuel your body for life.
11. Stagnant Learning
Trends in healthcare for older adults estimate that nearly 9 million people will suffer from the effects of dementia by 2030 as the baby boomer generation ages into retirement. By 2040, that number will increase to 12 million.
The brain is a muscle, and like all other muscles in the body, it must be exercised to stay healthy. Exercising the brain might mean mastering a task that has proven difficult or taking a course to learn something new. If you stagnate your learning, your brain will likely suffer from aging-related issues like dementia. Never stop learning new concepts and new ways of doing things. Prioritizing your health includes, perhaps most importantly, your brain.
12. The Unread Scholar
I love to read, and I have to scratch out an hour here and there to dive into my favorite books. If you're going into retirement and reading is a so-so activity for you, try creating a schedule that lets you spend an hour before bed with a book in your hands. It'll likely quiet your mind so that you can sleep better.
I love fiction; however, there are some excellent nonfiction books out there that may completely change your mindset or perspective if you give them a try.
13. Not Asking for Help
I don't have a problem asking for help, but I know a lot of people who feel a measure of disappointment or failure when they need help to complete a project or take care of an issue.
But asking for help isn't about failure; it's about finding a way to be successful at something you may not be able to do alone. It's not a slight on who you are as a person because you've overcome your ego and been able to ask for assistance. If you need help, reach out to someone because you may be just what they need at that moment to help them out. Sometimes, the help you need is what someone else desperately needs to give.
14. Ignoring Fitness
When I had my first daughter, I gained 44 lbs and lost 38 lbs before I got pregnant with my second daughter. I never lost the 34 lbs I gained with her; over the next sixteen years, I would have five more children. I can attest to just how important prioritizing fitness is.
Just like the wisdom of taking care of yourself first when you're on an airplane, you must put your fitness above all the other life events you attend. By finding and sticking to a fitness plan, you can give your whole physical, emotional, and mental self to the tasks before you and live a life you can delight in.
15. Alcohol and Smoking
Choosing to drink alcohol or smoke is a highly personal decision. However, they can also cost you serious money, dipping into your savings or fixed income for money you may not have. If you can quit, you'll save that money and likely feel infinitely better.
Even if you don't suffer from alcoholism, alcohol can rob you in other ways, like a DUI (a charge for driving under intoxication, sometimes referred to as a DWI). You could also lose any employment you have, as well as valuable friendships or networking relationships. Call me crazy, but I don't recall anyone ever mentioning how alcohol made their life better. I have heard plenty of stories of how it ruined lives. Smoking is like digging your own grave, especially if you smoke packaged cigarettes that come packed with carcinogens. Give them up, start putting the dirt back in the hole, and live your life well.
16. Skipping Balance Work
As I age, I've noticed that my balance isn't nearly what it was in my twenties. I suspect this will only worsen as I continue to age unless I take time to work at it.
Falls are a major reason people end up with hip fractures and other medical issues. My father, who is nearly 73, fell and broke his back a few years ago. Balance work is a must for retirees, especially if you're less active than you were before you retired.
