Counting the Days Until Retirement? 8 Ideas for How to Thrive While Waiting for the Big Day

The transition to retirement can be a time of uncertainty. It’s a bit like being in a pandemic. You’re not where you want to be or doing what you want to be doing — but you might be almost there. These kinds of in-between times can be difficult because you’re waiting for something to happen.

However, just because you are waiting, you should not give up on happiness and satisfaction.

Here are 8 tips to help you succeed no matter what stage you’re at in life – but especially if you’re in one of those awkward in-between stages.

1. Assess your current health status.

Sometimes, simply assessing your financial situation and thinking about your well-being can help you set a course for making changes in your life that will lead to greater happiness. (Note: The same goes for your financial well-being. The simple act of making a plan will start to improve your financial prospects. Get started now with Boldin’s Retirement Planner.)

Tyler J. VanderWeele, Director of the Center for Human Flourishing at Harvard University program I have written a 10-question test to help you assess your current health status.

Are you thriving or struggling? Take the test On the New York Times now.

2. Strengthening weak social ties

Good friends and close family relationships can contribute to your health. But so can your casual, weak relationships. In fact, scientists have found that casual social relationships can contribute significantly to your health.

Casual encounters might include a friendly exchange in line at the grocery store or someone you smile at every day while working at an office. These types of weak relationships can provide you with a relatively powerful boost in happiness and well-being.

In fact, Stanford sociology professor Mark Granovetter said: written On how we can benefit from weak ties in several different ways. Casual encounters can:

• Be a good outlet for expressing feelings in a non-judgmental environment.
• Giving you the opportunity to get a more objective opinion about something that’s bothering you.
• Expand your social network and can provide you with new ideas and opportunities.
• Offering a burst of goodwill unencumbered by relationship complications.

To boost your well-being, think about how you can strengthen weak ties.

3. Celebrate the little things.

Are you planning a big event to celebrate your retirement? A special trip? A party? Waiting for gifts? Or are you eagerly awaiting a life free of obligations? Whatever happens next, it will be a big event for you.

However, as you approach that all-important retirement date, it’s a good time to focus on the little pleasures. Psychologists call this “hedonism” — consciously celebrating small victories, noticing something beautiful, or simply acknowledging when you’re happy.

Having fun means giving yourself the space to acknowledge your positive feelings – and it’s best to do so while you’re feeling positive. Celebrating the little moments can boost your well-being right now.

• Take a moment to express gratitude for whatever you are celebrating.
• Take pictures or write about the things that make you happy. (You can also make it a goal to take a picture every day or spend 3 minutes writing down the things that make you happy before bed.)
• Tell someone about a positive moment you had.
• Just be aware when you feel happy.
• Take a walk to find something that makes you happy.

4. Develop a gratitude practice

In fact, your ability to feel gratitude increases as you get older, so this should be easy.

Dr. Vanderwell Recommend Take time once a week to think about five things in life that you are grateful for. Write them down and share them with your partner or a friend.

5. Do a lot of good things in one day.

While you wait for the big retirement moment, you may be putting off the things that will make you happy in that moment. If you want to feel happy today, try doing some acts of kindness.

research A study found that doing several acts of kindness (that a person wouldn’t normally do) each week, over the course of several weeks, can increase your happiness and life satisfaction, and make you feel more engaged, less anxious, and more connected.

Sociologists have also found that concentrating your kindness into one day can boost your feelings of well-being even more.

6. Focus on daily activities that give meaning to life.

You don’t need to solve climate change or feed all the poor in your city to live a meaningful life.

You can feel an increased sense of well-being by finding purpose in your daily activities. Whether it’s walking the dog, making your bed, finishing a work project, or making dinner—completing a meaningful task can give you a sense of accomplishment, especially if you take the time to acknowledge what you’ve done.

These small tasks are useful for training for retirement. In retirement you leave your career behind, and many people, although happy with the freedom, feel that they have lost their purpose.

7. Do something you’ve never done before.

Retirement will give you plenty of time to try new things. However, you don’t have to wait until you’re retired. Try something you’ve never tried before and your health will definitely improve.

“The first key to feeling satisfied with life is finding new interests,” Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School, told The New York Times.

The good news is that anything new doesn’t require a lot of effort, preparation, or planning. There are plenty of things you can try right now:

• Buy a fruit or vegetable you’ve never tasted before.
• Take a new path in your daily running.
• Have you ever tried Sudoku? Try it.

8. Address your concerns

Transition periods are in-between times when you may reflect on the past and possibly mistakes you made as well as worry about the future.

However, as any self-help guru will tell you, happiness cannot be found in the past or the future, it can be found in the present.

So what are you supposed to do about your worries about funding your future retirement? Humans naturally want to feel in control. Worrying about your future may give you the illusion that you’re doing something—but worrying is not the same as productive problem solving.

So what can you do? Creating a financial plan, learning about personal finance, and thinking about worst-case scenarios (and creating backup plans) can give you the sense of control you need.

The Boldin Retirement Planner provides you with powerful technology to set goals, take control, make better decisions, and stay on track.

Forbes describes Boldin as “a new approach to retirement planning.” We’ve also been ranked a top financial tool by Marketwatch, AAII, Seeking Alpha, and many others. Use Boldin to find your way to the future you want—today.