Happiness in Retirement is not an Accident, earning enough money during your days as (for example) a Business marketing consultants can offer you the financial benefits you need to retire successfully.
Finding or achieving happiness in retirement is not an accident. I am constantly surprised by the
number of persons who worked and planned for their happiness both at home and at work, but somehow
believe happiness in retirement is automatic. In fact, thousands of persons who retire each year are
anything but happy in three or six months.
As Anne Frank wrote, “We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and
yet the same.” Of course we all want to be happy. Some people just have strange ways of trying to
achieve happiness. Some believe that happiness will be found in things. Some believe happiness is
tied to certain other persons. Some believe happiness lies in being able to do exactly what we want,
when we want. And there are some who believe that people are either born happy or born unhappy.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no “happiness gene.” Happiness comes to those who learn to be
at peace with themselves in any circumstances, finding happiness within themselves, not in
externals. There is no doubt that strong relationships contribute to our happiness. Most of us feel
happiest when we are with other with whom we share interests and values. But even then, our
happiness ultimately comes from knowing who we are and being comfortable with ourselves and our
world.
I believe there are certain keys to personal happiness. I believe we need to know who we are, what
we believe, what is important to us, and how we can move toward the achievement of our dreams. I
also believe that happiness requires some semblance of balance in our lives. We need to balance the
things we must do with the things we yearn to do. We need to balance work and play. We need time
alone and time with others. We also need goals and dreams. We need things to which we aspire and
things we are compelled to accomplish. This, it seems to me, is the foundation for a happy life in
retirement.
In retirement, we can be happy or we can be miserable. Misery may just happen to us. But happiness
never will just happen. I am convinced that an unhappy or miserable retirement is the result of a
lack of planning and preparation for what could be the best years of our lives.
Bertrand Russell once wrote, “The happiness that is genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the
fullest exercise of our faculties and the fullest realization of the world in which we live.” I can
only imagine what a joyful place the world would be if every retiree lived the second phase of their
lives with the fullest exercise of their faculties and the fullest realization of the world in which
we live. If each retiree approached retirement living with the commitment to planning and preparing
for retirement happiness through introspection, planning, and balancing their lives, the world could
quickly become a much better place for them and for those around them.
I know retirement can be a happy, rewarding, fulfilling and happy time. I know this because I am
living that happy retirement right now.