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Reinventing yourself starting in your 50s for a productive post retirement life
Most people who are working in an organisation as employees at whatever level, will retire at some stage in their lives; it could be at the age of 58 or 60 or 65. Many people, who are self-employed like entrepreneurs or professionals such as doctors, lawyers or CAs, may choose to retire to take a break from their profession and have more time to pursue other interests. Some others may be forced to retire involuntarily due to organisational restructuring, acquisition or other reasons.
Irrespective of how a person comes to retire, it is a major transition in that person’s life. The impact of that transition can be dramatic. The main reason for this is that most of us define who we are by our jobs, our organisation and the title we hold. Our “self-worth” is determined in our own minds by our job and the position. As Hyrum Smith, author of the book “Purposeful Retirement” says in the book:
If I based my value on my job and my job goes away, my value as a human goes away with it. This leads to big trouble. This leads to unhappiness, isolation, depression, and eventually death.
He gives the example of a senior officer in US Army: “After 38 years of service, now a full colonel, he was told to retire. He didn’t want to go. The military was his life. He felt as though he was being kicked out, and he died six months later.”
We tend to define ourselves by our jobs, and when that is gone, there is a vacuum.
How can you make sure that life post retirement, i.e., the “second innings” is satisfying, happy and meaningful? This requires careful planning even while one is employed or working full time. In fact, in many cases, the planning has to start as early as early 40s.
Four pillars
There are four pillars for building a happy and meaningful life post retirement:
• Purpose
• Financial stability
• Physical fitness
• Mental health
All four are extremely important and interlinked. If one is missing it can have a negative impact on the others and on overall wellbeing. All of these need to be thought through and planned as early as possible in your career and definitely by the time you reach 50s.
Purpose
You need to have a vision or broad goal(s) for what you want to be doing post retirement. Where are you going to direct your energies, in what set of activities and to what purpose. It could be related to the work you are already doing or it could be an area that you are deeply interested in but could not pursue during work life. Ideally, it should be an activity or set of activities, that would require you to engage your talents, capabilities and energy. If these serve the community, the society, in any form, either as charity work or for monetary benefit, then all the better. These activities should also help you to build connections with people or leverage networks you may have built over the years.
Engaging in activities that you are deeply interested in, that require you to use your talents, that help develop or utilise network of relationships and serve the community, is the most purposeful way of leading a retired life.
Financial stability
In order to pursue a purposeful life, you should be free from financial worries. Your finances at the time of retirement, should enable you to lead a quality of life that you desire and you are comfortable with. For this, your financial planning must start very early in the working life. A financial planner and investment advisor’s help would be needed to develop a good financial plan, taking into account expected income and expenses over the years and arriving at a savings and investment plan that would leave you with sufficient resources at the time of retirement. Revisiting and revising the financial plan every few years would be required.
Physical fitness
Huge amount of research has been done about the effect of physical activities, particularly fitness related activities on health. There is a strong positive relationship between physical fitness and longevity. Being physically active slows down the aging process and also keeps a person mentally agile.
Exercise in any form, be it sports,gym, running, yoga or Tai Chi,supported with a good healthy dietwould be required for physical fitness.Recent studies have shown that sleep isalso an essential ingredient and manyyoung people ignore this. Sleep is whenthe body and the mind repair andrejuvenate. So, it is important to get theright amount (between six to eighthours) of good quality sleep.
Pursuit of physical fitness shouldbe a lifelong goal and should start at avery young age and continue well intoold age.
Mental health
As you age, the cognitive function of the brain deteriorates. It was once thought that slowing down and deterioration of mental faculties are an inevitable outcome of the aging process. However, recent studies have shown that this is not true and not only is it possible to remain mentally sharp but also one can reverse the decline of cognitive capabilities. Neuroplasticity and neurogenesis are fascinating areas of study of the neurons that are subject of latest research. In order to arrest or reverse decline of mental faculties, you can practice specific exercises such as mindfulness, meditation and also learn skills such as new languages or develop new hobbies. These become more important as you get into the 50s and in later years. Close relationships and engagement with the community play a critical role in keeping us young and healthy as we age.
Harvard Adult Development Study, one of the most prominent studies, which over 80 years has tracked the lives of 700 American men, studying their professional lives, family relationships, health, financial and a number of other parameters.
The most important findings of this research study are:
1. Good relationships keep us happier and healthier.
2. Social connections are really important and loneliness kills. People who are more socially connected to family, to friends and to community are happier, physically healthier, and live longer.
3. It is not just the number of friends or relationships that count; it is the quality of those relationships that matter.
4. Good relationships protect not just our bodies but our brains as well.
5. Those who were most satisfied in their relationships at 50, were the healthiest at age 80
Therefore, for your post retirement life, it is extremely important to develop and maintain strong, close relationships. A number of studies in positive psychology have important lessons to offer as you think of retirement. Dr. Martin Seligman, considered to be the father of positive psychology, categorises our lives into three groups:
• Pleasant Life: where we pursue all good things in life such as food, entertainment, relaxation etc.
• Engaged Life: where we engage in activities that utilise our interests and talents such as photography, adventure travels, painting etc.
• Purposeful Life: where we utilise our talents and abilities in serving or engaging with the community / society.
His research shows that people who engaged in Purposeful Life had the highest life satisfaction.
As you approach retirement, itwould be good to explore opportunitieswhere you can contribute through yourtalents and abilities. For example, MMAoffers excellent opportunities forprofessionals to contribute to themanagement / business community andsociety at large through variousavenues.
In conclusion, while you are still inyour 50s, it would be good to preparefor the second innings, i.e., postretirementlife by focusing on the fourpillars—Purpose, Financial Stability,Physical Fitness and Mental Health—that can help you build a verysatisfying, happy, purposeful life. �
