How
NOT to Retire Happy - Easier Than Shooting Fish in a
Barrel!
How NOT to
Retire Happy
If you really believe
that happiness can be bought,
then why don’t you try selling
some of yours?
- from Life's Secret Guide to
Happiness
Strong Signs That
You May Not Be Ready
for Full-Time
Retirement
1. You have been unhappy all your working
life and have been waiting for retirement to make you
happy.
2. Planning a vacation is more fun than
taking it.
3. Vacations have always taken a back-seat
to work commitments.
4. You have no hobbies or other interests
outside of work.
5. Your best friends are people you work
with and who you don't like all that much.
6. All of the social functions you attend
are work related.
7. The thought of spending a lot more time
at home with your spouse makes you extremely anxious or
dejected.
8. Your spouse has always wanted you to get
a life outside of work, but you haven't.
9. You don't know the meaning of
sabbatical, let alone having ever dreamed of or actually
taken one.
10. You have no nest egg because you have
been expecting a big lottery win to fund your retirement
dreams.
11. On weekends your wife (or husband)
constantly complains about you getting into her (his)
hair.
12. You persistently think of work, even
when you're not on the job.
13. You are proud to be a workaholic even
though deep down you know that workaholics aren't
productive workers..
14. You would resist
The World's Best Retirement
Book, particularly if it was given to
you by friends, colleagues, or relatives.
What if you decide NOT to follow the
principles of The World's
Best Retirement
Book?
-
You will NOT discover the
valuable tools such as The Get-a-Life
Tree that are necessary to create
a retirement filled with satisfying leisure
activities and
happiness.
-
You may wind up spending your
retirement with few or no friends. Bear in mind
that a recent study shows that having a few real
good friends - much more so than close
relatives or a lot of
money - is the most important
factor in determining how long a person lives and
how much happiness he or she will
experience.
-
You may end up
blowing your money and having to go back to work
instead of being creative with your spending and
making your
money last.
-
In pursuit
of happiness, your retirement years may be spent
watching a lot of TV - and not much more. For
the record, studies have shown that most
people get mildly depressed after watching three
or four hours
of TV.
-
You may
wind up being truly miserable in your retirement
years - much more miserable
than you were in your
career.
Hardly the stuff of a great retirement,
right?
Retirement
Activities to Help
You
Retire
Happy, Wild, and
Free
One thing that I do
know is that the leisurely retirement activities in my
retirement will be much different from that of typical
North Americans.
One week into
retirement, you'll be so damned bored
that you'll want to stick bicycle spokes
into your eyes. You'll probably opt to
look for another job or start another
company. Kinda defeats the purpose of
waiting [for retirement], doesn't
it.
- Timothy
Ferris in The 4-Hour
Workweek
According to a recent
national survey of 800 American adults age 60 to 74
conducted for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, taking care
of the yard and spending time with grandchildren were
statistically tied for top billing among married/partnered
men while spending time with grandchildren was the clear
favorite among married/partnered women.
Main Retirement Activities
for American Male Retirees
- Taking care of things around the house and yard
(28 percent)
- Spending time with grandchildren or other
family members (26 percent)
- Enjoying things like playing golf, shopping,
going out with friends (18
percent)
- Pursuing hobbies (12
percent)
- Volunteering in the community (seven
percent)
- Watching where your money goes, clipping
grocery coupons, etc. (six
percent)
Main Retirement Activities for
American Female Retirees
- Spending time with grandchildren or other
family members (36 percent)
- Taking care of things around the house and yard
(25 percent)
- Enjoying things like playing golf, shopping,
going out with friends (16
percent)
- Pursuing hobbies (eight
percent)
- Watching where your money goes, clipping
grocery coupons, etc. (seven
percent)
- Volunteering in the community (three
percent)
My retirement
activities will be more in line with what I recommend
in
How to Retire
Happy, Wild, and
Free
.
Retirement leisure pursuits should entail a lot of
physical activity. The benefits of physical activity
is not to be underestimated.
Some Positive
Quotes about Retirement
If you want to
retire happy, then believe the following quotes about
retirement and happiness:
Prescription for a Happy
Retirement:
Purpose enough
for satisfaction;
Sanity enough to know when to play and rest;
Wealth enough for basic needs;
Affection enough to like many and love a few;
Self-respect enough to love yourself;
Charity enough to give to others in need;
Courage enough to face difficulties;
Creativity enough to solve problems;
Humor enough to laugh at will;
Hope enough to expect an interesting tomorrow;
Gratitude enough to appreciate what you have;
Health enough to enjoy life for all its worth.
- from one of Ernie Zelinski
retirement gift books
Just think how happy you would be
if you lost everything you have right now, and
then got it back.
- Unknown Wise Person
Be content with what you
have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
- Tao Te Ching
My
life is even fuller now since
retirement.
The
big difference is that now I decide when to
start my day. Truth be told, sometimes my day
doesn't start until noon. Yes, I said it ...
noon!
- Unknown wise person
No longer having to punch a time
clock is my definition of retirement. That way I
could do what I want - when I want - anytime I
want.
- Brooky Brown
My
favorite thing [about retirement] was being able
to stay up reading a Dean Koontz thriller
because I don't have to hit the floor running
the next morning.
- Jackie Griffey
I look at what I have not and think myself
unhappy;
Others look at what I have and think me happy.
- Joseph Roux
After I retired, I sat down and
listed the positives and negatives of my life
and found I had far more positives than
negatives.
- Unknown wise person
If you haven't got all the things
you want, be grateful for the things you don't
have that you don't want.
- Unknown wise person
If you are not happy
here and now, you never will be.
- Taisen Deshimaru
"Ah
retirement!" Whoever said that retirement was
boring doesn't have a clue.
- Barbara Claire Schaefer
When one door of happiness closes,
another opens;
But often we look so long at the closed door, that
we do not see the one which has been opened for
us.
- Helen Keller
Purchase
the Latest Edition
of
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and
Free Today Through These
Direct
Links:
Copyright 2010 by Ernie
Zelinski,
Author of
The World's Best Retirement
Book
All Rights
Reserved
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