Monday, September 22, 2014

What leads to a happy retirement? (Australia)

Original Article

This article is a quick guide written by Michael who is an internationally published consulting psychologist specializing in the psychological challenges facing people at various points in their lives. He mentions the fact that many people always ask about ‘how can anyone not enjoy the freedom of life in retirement?’. The author states that one of the reasons is that going to work is not just about income, it has many social and personal benefits:
1.    Work usually provides a sense of purpose.
2.    It increases the sense of achievement and self esteem by utilizing our skills.
3.    It provides us with a sense of structure.
4.    Fulfills social needs.
Based on all these reasons, the author finds that Australian retirees who involved in ‘purposeful activities’ for more than five hours per week faced lower level of emotional problems. Some of these ‘purposeful activities’ include:
1.    Producing tangible products such as painting.
2.    Providing service such as community work.
3.    Self-development such as health improvement.

All these activities help retirees to feel that there is a balance in their lives and to maintain healthy levels of self-esteem.

Finally, the author advices people to commence some of these ‘purposeful activities’ while working which will ease their way into retirement instead of suddenly facing a plenty of time without knowing what to do and leads to a decrease on feeling lost and aimless that retirees usually feel.  

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