Sophie Okolo, MPH

One of the most looked forward to – and yet hardest – times in life comes with retirement. People retire from their long careers and they look forward to taking a step back and just relaxing. If retirement is bothering you, you need to talk about it to your loved ones. You have to explain that you want tips for aging in place at home and advice on how to get out there and enjoy yourself. There are plenty of things that you can do while you retire. You are still vital and you still have things that you can do with your time. There is plenty to look forward to, and with this in mind we’ve got a few things that you can be doing to stay engaged and happy while you enjoy a retirement full of life and laughter.

• Engage in sport. Being active has a ton of benefits, from the health benefits of your blood pressure and heart, to the fresh air you breathe and the way it makes you feel. Engaging in a new sport in something like golfing, tennis and boules will give you a sense of purpose and make you feel as if you can do more for yourself. Being out there in sport will mean that you can give yourself something to do while allowing you to learn something new!

• Choose to volunteer. A lot of retirees out there choose to volunteer in order to feel something rewarding in their later years. Whether it’s a volunteer as a companion in a hospital setting, or you assist at a library, you can get out and feel as if you are filling your time with something that matters. There are plenty of organizations out there that will tell you whether you can volunteer or not, and there are plenty of charity shops and other nonprofit agencies that will always appreciate some help. It’s a vital and rewarding way to spend your time, too, and it can make you feel as if you are keeping yourself busy.

• Start your own business. You may be older than you were when you were working, but you are only limited by your imagination and your interests when you are in retirement. Starting your own business is going to give you some purpose and allow you to do something you may have dreamed of for years. Getting this right now will enable you to enjoy something entirely created by you, which can give you a huge sense of achievement. You deserve to feel useful and if starting a business is going to do that, you should!

• You can travel. One of the perks of retirement is the time you get back into your hands to travel off-peak and save money. More than that, you get discounts for being in retirement in the first place! You can plan some big trips each year, or you can buy a camper van and travel and camp! It’s exciting because you can go and see the things that you never got a chance to see for all the years that you were working. Traveling gives you a chance to spread your wings, which will be most helpful for you when you have so much time to have fun!

• Take a year out. As you might have done as a student, you can take a gap year between finishing work and starting hobbies and other things in retirement. Take a year out and do whatever it is that you want to do to decompress and relax after decades of service in your career. The time is yours now, and you are able to do what you want, when you want to do it – this is your moment to take a year to relax! Go to spas, take a round the world cruise and see some amazing sights – you deserve it!

Retirement gives you a few years to be just a free human being, with plenty of time to reconnect with friends, to relax and appreciate the world around you and more. Retirement isn’t a bad thing – you have so much to look forward to now!