Want to Crush Retirement? Here Are 3 Habits Every New Retiree Needs, No Matter Their Age.
Ahh, the golden years.
You’ve saved diligently, got your ducks in a row, and now it’s time to retire — goodbye 9-to-5, hello work-free years. It doesn’t matter if you’re in your mid 30’s or mid 70’s; life is about to change. Retirement is a game you’ve never played before.
Here are 3 habits you need to crush your retirement, no matter your age:
1. Beef up that social calendar.
We are social animals.
We crave connection, touch, and deep relationships, whether we realize it or not. But unfortunately, retirement can quickly turn into an extended period of isolation as people leave the social web of their job or industry. Don’t let that happen to you.
Social isolation has been shown to accelerate aging and contribute to higher levels of dementia and Alzheimers. So, make it a habit to stay socially engaged in retirement. Here are 5 quick tips from BetterUp to help you do that:
“Start with yourself: Becoming aware of why you act and react in certain ways may be helpful for developing more healthy ways of interacting with others.
Say “yes” more often: Participate in social events (even the online ones) or activities that interest you.
Be present: Whenever possible, shut your computer down and meet a friend or an acquaintance for coffee or drink. Face-to-face communication, eye contact, smile, and closeness have amazing benefits.
Spend quality time with loved ones: We organize a weekly Zoom movie club spanning 3 generations of our extended family, where each one selects a movie that everybody has to watch with a discussion to follow.
Remember the “little things”: Sending a quick birthday note, a congratulation for a happy event, or a condolence for a loss makes people know that you care about them.
Seriously, if you only take one thing from this list, it should be this: focus on your social game.
Remember — your level of social connection can make or break your retirement, so it’s essential to strengthen this habit.
2. Shift your mindset from saver to spender.
What got you here will not get you there.
During my time as a financial planner, I had the chance to sit in on many meetings, often with new retirees. It was fascinating listening to people with multi-million dollar portfolios ask their financial advisor what they could afford to do in retirement. Often, these people had more money than they would ever need, but just one problem — they were too frugal to enjoy it.
It makes sense when you think about it: they got where they are today by being diligent savers.
They worked hard, saved harder, and were prudent with their finances. This millionaire-next-door mentality is what propelled them to financial success. But now, they were struggling.
How could they simultaneously stop saving and start spending? It just felt wrong.
This is one of the most difficult transitions people have in retirement. They may have the pocketbook of a millionaire, but they still have the mindset of a penny-pincher. Making that shift is challenging but critical to enjoying their work-free years.
So how do you do it?
I think it comes down to two things:
First, awareness: Identify the current thoughts that aren’t serving you.
Second, intentionality: Choose the new thoughts that will serve you.
If you were to take a step back and evaluate your current thoughts, you might find some variations of the following:
I need to be frugal because I no longer have an income.
Money doesn’t grow on trees ya’ know.
It’s important to leave my heirs as much of an inheritance as possible.
The stock market is down, so maybe I should put off the (insert literally any financial goal here) until next year.
The trouble with these thoughts is that some may be partially true, making them very easy to believe and repeat.
But they aren’t serving you. All they can do is keep you trapped in a scarcity mindset through what should be another amazing chapter of your unfolding life. It’s time to choose new thoughts.
Consider these instead:
I worked and saved to enjoy my work-free years — now I’m going to do that.
The stock market is down, but that’s okay. My retirement plan accounts for that.
My heirs don’t want my money after I am dead — they would rather enjoy time and experiences with me now.
Things have shifted: I used to have an abundance of time and a scarcity of money, but now I have an abundance of money and a scarcity of time.
Remember: your thoughts — conscious or subconscious — actively shape your reality. So to enjoy your golden years, it’s critical to be aware of your current thoughts and be intentional with your future thoughts.
3. Stay open to change by adopting a white-belt mentality.
You learn the least when you think you know the most.
The way I see it, you’ve got two choices in retirement: grow or remain fixed. Unfortunately, as many people age, they become increasingly rigid in how they view the world. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, as they say.
But like everything else in life, that’s just a choice.
Plenty of old dogs learn new tricks as long as they’re open to them. And that’s where the white-belt mentality comes into play.
What’s the white-belt mentality?
The white-belt mentality means keeping a beginner’s mindset — open and eager to learn.
I keep the white-belt mentality that I can learn from anyone, anywhere, anytime. – George St-Pierre
Here’s a great explanation from the Wrestling Mindset blog:
“Being the least experienced or least knowledgeable person in the room is a humbling experience, and those looking to improve past that point will likely seek knowledge from everybody. A major part of being a white belt includes the fact that everybody has knowledge and experience to offer.”
If you can cultivate a white-belt mentality throughout retirement, there’s no limit to what you’ll learn, experience, and grow into. But, if you’re convinced that you know everything there is to know, and these younger generations of whippersnappers are screwing everything up, well, that’s all you’ll see.
Remember, change is the constant variable. So don’t let retirement and your golden years be defined by rigidity, a fixed mindset, and a lack of understanding. Instead, be open to new ideas, and keep the white-belt mentality that you can learn from anyone, anywhere, anytime.
You’ll be better for it.