How to stop being afraid of retirement and old age
It is difficult to find a person who has never experienced fear of old age. You are afraid of losing your former attractiveness, efficiency, healthy mind, family, and friends. It is possible to list all the points for a long time, but the essence is the same: being old is a new experience, and not the most pleasant one, as practice shows us. What emotions do your grandmothers, grandfathers, or parents experience in old age – most likely, it is loneliness, a feeling of helplessness, fatigue, and in some cases also anger.
But old age is just another stage in the life of any person, logical and inevitable. You can determine for yourself whether you will be lonely and angry or, on the contrary, joyful and optimistic. All this is facilitated by how you manage your time and energy right now. You can make sure that your old age is comfortable, or you can forget about the future and burn your life without thinking about the consequences.
We’ve put together a few things you can do to stop worrying about retirement.
Track your fitness now
Do not forget yourself, hoping that someday in a couple of years you will start playing sports and put your body in order. If you cannot do it right now, you are unlikely to force yourself in the future. If you want your old age to pass actively – stop eating anything, sign up for the gym, or at least start walking more often.
And don’t look for any excuses for yourself: your body after retirement will be the same as you made it to yourself in adulthood.
Provide yourself with passive income
Your fears about getting old may be closely related to the issue of financial independence. After you quit your job, it is not your salary that will feed you, but your pension, which will be several times less than this amount. You may have to greatly reduce your needs, which will lead to a drop in the quality of life.
If you do not want to depend on pension reform and be in constant need, it is better to think right now about how you can influence your future. The best way to save for your old age is to provide passive income. Start to understand investments – this is one of the most accessible options for passive earnings. The main thing is to delve deeper into the topic, understand how the market works, and not take any rash actions.
Train your brain
You do most of your daily activities automatically, without even thinking about what you just did. You stop learning, lose interest in everything new, fixate on your work, and do not strain your brain.
This needs to be changed before it’s too late. Train your brain: solve logic puzzles, puzzles, learn poems, try different hobbies, dilute familiar scenarios – go to work a different route, order a new dish at a restaurant, regularly visit unfamiliar places.
Keep in touch with your friends
Older people most of all lack communication. If you’re afraid of being lonely after retirement, think about your priorities now. Answer the question: “When did you last see your friends?” Maybe you are very busy people who have families, their problems, but you can set aside a couple of hours at least once a month and meet for a cup of coffee or a glass of beer.
Even if you live in different cities, this does not mean that friendship is doomed: you can call, correspond, communicate via video. Try to carry on friendship through the years so that you can keep in touch even in old age.
Find yourself a hobby
If you don’t have a hobby right now or think you don’t need it, you will regret it after retirement. Imagine: there is no more work in your life, and you spend whole days at home. Answer the question: “What are you doing?” Do you read books, grow your garden, assemble equipment models, or draw pictures? Try something new now: you will understand what interests you, and you can devote yourself to your hobby in old age. You cannot remain a person who does not care deeply about what to score with your free time.
Monitor your health
When you are young, you seem to have several lives in-store at once. You mindlessly waste your health on overwork, the opportunity to spend the night somewhere in the club, bad habits like smoking and drinking, stress, etc. But to be active and healthy in retirement, you must start taking care of yourself when you are young.
Do not ignore the signals that your body gives you; go to the doctors, attend scheduled examinations, get tested, follow all the recommendations given to you by the doctors. Well, do not forget: everything you do is justified because it is an investment in your future.
Make a list of plans
In old age, many people are faced with regrets about what they did not have time to do while they were young. It turns out that everything that you put in a distant box for so long is difficult to implement when you already have poor health, poor physical shape, a bunch of contraindications, and a crowd of grandchildren who need to be watched.
Therefore, do not waste time: sit down and make a list for yourself of everything that you want to have time to do in your life. Some items will require your immediate action, and some can be postponed until retirement. In any case, you will feel that youth was not in vain, and an understanding of what you can do in old age.
Work on your self-esteem
When you get old, you will hardly be able to show off a beautiful torso or stylish haircut. It is the transformation of their appearance that scares many people. But, if you think about it, people in old age still make new acquaintances, arouse admiration, and even get married.
The problem is not how you will look but how you will present yourself. Therefore, you must take care of healthy self-esteem beforehand.
Find an example to follow
There are thousands of stories about people who, in their old age, started their own business, changed their profession, started a blog, or started going on hikes. Perhaps you have living examples of how a retired person can inspire even young people to new achievements.
Find someone whose old age will cause you only positive emotions, and try to match this person.
Stop avoiding love
Finding a loved one and creating a strong couple with him is not luck, as many think, but hard work on oneself. Everyone was betrayed, disappointed, sadly abandoned, but this is not a reason to withdraw into oneself and avoid relationships. When you retire, you will need love and care more than ever, and someone you can take care of.
No, love is not a panacea, and you should not enter into a relationship, let alone marry, simply because of the fear of loneliness. It’s easier to relate to this, and if you suddenly meet the same girl who will win your heart – do not sit still, but act.
