Freedom After 50: 7 Habits for a Happy Retirement
What if I told you that the habits you have (or don't have) in your 50s can significantly impact the "happy" retirement we all hope for? And what if that "happy" retirement demands more than a retirement fund to come to fruition?
Retirement should be an exciting time filled with exciting new opportunities. It is a blank canvas for creating a life master "peace" filled with purpose, wisdom, and fulfillment. Yet, even with ample free time, many retirees often struggle with a vision of what might bring them fulfillment. Why? Because they wait until retirement to begin preparing for a life outside of their career, their family roles, and the expectations that come with these roles.
Recently, after one of our Howard Bailey events, I spoke with a man (let's call him Jon), about his retirement life. Jon, a 66-year-old Howard Bailey client, was suffering from health issues, a lack of connections with others, and a lack of clarity about what to do with his life. As we talked, he explained that he had never experienced close relationships with other men and often found himself receding into the background of life. This caused him to feel like he had nothing to offer, and even if he did, he wouldn't know how to relate. As we dug in, the reality of his earlier habits and tendencies was actively taking a toll on his current retirement reality.
Despite having a sizable nest egg for retirement, a wonderful wife, children, and grandchildren, he felt apprehensive about his life; as though life was happening to him as a passive participant.
Perhaps you can relate to this reality. Maybe you find yourself in your 30s, 40s, or 50s feeling like something is missing and that life is happening to you, or worse, against you. Sure, you're contributing to that 401(k), setting aside the resources so you can escape the grind one day. But you keep wondering: When will enough be enough?
This article will dive deep into the habits and intentions required for a truly happy retirement filled with purpose, significance, and impact.
7 Habits to for a Happy Retirement
Beyond the Financial Plan
While a secure financial fund is essential, creating a vision for how you want to spend your days is equally—if not more—important. Retirees with personal goals and established routines often feel a greater sense of meaning and direction. They wake up ready to face life head-on. They have something to look forward to and a way to contribute to something larger than themselves.
As we learned in the Regret-Free Retirement article, exploring your ideal retirement is integral to finding true happiness. And the earlier we begin implementing habits rooted in discipline, the more capable we become at navigating the journey ahead with resilience and intention. Think of it as the practice before the big game of retirement. It is the playbook of life focused on how we respond to life and its many unpredictable twists and turns. As the saying goes, "How you practice is how you play," so your pre-retirement practice—the discipline, repetition, and intentional actions—will determine how you show up for the game time of retirement.
What areas of your life are asking for attention? How can you improve your habits for longevity, purpose, impact, and a way of life legacy for your loved ones?
Leverage Legal Preparedness
Peace of mind is priceless. How you structure your retirement plan—from your financial plan and life insurance benefits—to the legal representation, can ensure that your family is protected amidst unexpected circumstances. Furthermore, a fine-tuned legal plan, power of attorney, and appropriate trusts can ease the stress for you and your loved ones and give you immense peace of mind as you live your second half of life with confidence in your team and your plan.
A good friend of mine started down this path in his early 30s. With each new life transition, he leveraged his legal counsel and set up trusts that allowed for the free transition of his money tax-free to his family upon his death. Moreover, it protected his family's relational dynamics and avoided unnecessary disagreements. Each family member understood the details of the estate plan long before the day of his death.
Do you have a strategic legal initiative in place to effectively execute your legacy in a manner that honors your life and your loved ones? If you need guidance, please reach out to your Howard Bailey Financial Advisor, and they will gladly provide you with the resources and contacts that can support you along the way.
Prioritize Health and Well-being
On one hand, maintaining your health seems like an obvious priority in retirement (as much as one can control such things). Those who enter retirement with healthy habits from their first half of life and pre-retirement years have created the disciplines that lead to a greater sense of true wealth. Those who prioritize healthy physical activity, balanced nutrition, and regular check-ups are healthier and tend to feel more engaged with a life that happens through them, not to them.
Imagine investing in your body like a bank. Every walk, healthy meal, and workout pays dividends into your quality of life, ensuring that your purpose contributes to a life of joy with fewer health concerns and interruptions; a life legacy with real impact.
Generous Living
In turn, the long-life pursuit of health and well-being is more meaningful as you share your time, resources, or unique giftedness in ways that support the greater good. Generosity can be as simple as mentoring, volunteering, or helping a friend or family member in need. Studies remind us that giving and a sacrificial way of life leads to greater personal fulfillment significance. Moreover, generosity is a catalyst for turning knowledge into wisdom. It comes from life's experiences and lessons authentically shared for someone else's benefit. Sharing your resilience when others cannot do so is the real gift. It comes when we learn from our fears and failures, encouraging others to run into the storm with confidence that it will be OK.
In what ways do you naturally feel generous? Is it with your time, resources, and wisdom? Or perhaps it's how you share your love and grace in a world that often seems lost in fear and doubt.
The 70/30 Lifestyle
The 70/30 Rule is a strategic approach that, when applied to the pre-retirement life and carried forward into retirement, can bring greater joy and purpose while minimizing time spent on less fulfilling tasks. By focusing 70% of your time on the pursuits that genuinely energize you and support your well-being and only 30% on the necessary but less enjoyable tasks, you can empower your life by reclaiming more of your time for what matters most in this new chapter.
Imagine, for a moment, implementing the 70/30 Rule as a guide for how you determine the way to make your days the most meaningful and purposeful because you align your day with things that bring you life. For example, instead of spending hours on household chores, mowing the lawn, or some other menial task that doesn't align with your 70%, consider outsourcing some of these tasks so you can be free to focus on hobbies, physical well-being, social connections, or even volunteer work. The goal of the 70/30 life is to create a structure that allows you to enjoy the freedom of retirement, giving more time to activities that enrich your life.
The 70/30 life serves as a way to balance the meaningful versus routine tasks of your life so you can maximize the quality of your time. This strategy makes living with purpose and satisfaction easier, making your retirement years even more rewarding.
Keep Growing
Well, we have saved the best for last. It's funny how during this lifetime, many of us reach certain stages of life where we think we should know better or have it mostly figured out. Yet, with each new stage, we simply find that while our heart is beating, each new stage of life demands a growth phase. And within that, each new experience of loss—family members, physical ability, mental capability, and more—is yet another thing we must learn to navigate and grow through.
But that's not all. Retirement is also a great time to explore new interests, set small goals, or dive into the dream projects we once dreamed of. In all cases, the ability to be a long-life learner equips you with the curiosity that motivates you to greater levels of joy. Learning and growth support a life of discipline and structure that inspires us each day to seek the greater good. In these moments, you can engage in practices that enhance the greatest version of you.
According to The Forem article, Only 15% of People are Truly Self-Aware, "while 95% of people claim to be self-aware, research shows that only 10-15% of people fit that criteria for self-awareness." If you think your success or your knowledge equates to self-awareness, research also shows that CEOs and top-tiered leadership are less likely to be included in that 10-15%. As many psychologists, coaches, and thought leaders echo, you never really graduate from the school of self-awareness because, as we have learned, personal growth is a lesson that I believe we learn even up to the final lesson: Death.
Conclusion
You see, I believe that a "happy" retirement results from finding freedom after 50 to explore the way of life we long to live as we retire. With a clear vision and the required preparation and practice, we set the stage for a purposeful and meaningful retirement. If you wait until retirement to create this plan, you may spend much of your retirement in the discovery phase, trying to find your purpose rather than living it. Don't take my word for it. Instead, look at the 85-90% of individuals who never tap into who they are, let alone understand where they want to go.
I hope you aspire to break free from a status-quo lifestyle and initiate the pathway to freedom after 50 by implementing these seven habits for a more fulfilling life. In doing so, even the smallest steps toward growth can transform your next chapter of life into one of joy and wisdom.
Be proactive, embrace the journey ahead, and get curious about what the exciting adventure into retirement could hold for you and those you love. To receive your FREE Freedom After 50 Checklist, text FREEDOM to 888-599-4491. Don't be stuck in the status quo any longer. Take action today and join the revolution of elders choosing to Retire with Purpose.