With retirement comes a sense of achievement. And while that isn’t a bad thing, it usually leads the retirees to lose their focus and goals in life. Contrary to how many people feel about retirement, this important milestone doesn’t have to be the end of an active and fulfilling life. Retirement isn’t all about leisure and lack of direction in life. Rather, it’s the start of a new phase where your experience and time can be utilized to achieve your old and forgotten dreams.
Daniel Orfin has over 20 years of experience in the financial and insurance industry. He’s an Approved Member of the National Ethics Society and the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors. Through his company Daniel Orfin and Associates, he promotes strategies to help retirees feel good about and make the most out of their golden years.
It’s Not Retirement, It’s a Sabbatical
The question of what’s next after retirement which leaves most retirees dumbfounded is best answered by changing the way one looks at it. Daniel Orfin believes that the best way to look at retirement is that it is an opportunity for you to work. Only this time you choose the line of work for improving yourself and are only partaking in activities that you enjoy.
When a retiree leaves their work for the very last time, a sense of overwhelming relief takes over. But soon, that relief makes way to boredom and apathy as time stretches ahead with no meaningful undertaking to fill it if they do not find a new purpose. And that’s why it’s better to think of retirement as just a short break from work, not the end of the working stage of life altogether.
Time to Explore
In the seminars offered at Daniel Orfin and Associates, attendees often ask the question, “what is there to do after retirement?”. It is often puzzling for someone who has spent the best part of their adult life going to work every day to figure out what to do with their time. One thing to do while they decide on the next steps in their post-retirement life is to explore the world.
Everyone has a special place, country, or region, they’ve always wanted to visit. Now is the time to turn this dream into a reality and travel the world. Even exploring one’s own city or country is often a fulfilling and eye-opening experience. If traveling isn’t an option, then a summer camp is the second-best thing. Adult summer camps are a chance to meet new people and make friends while enjoying one’s hobbies such as fishing, biking, hiking, pottery, and others.
Age Is Just a Number
According to Daniel Orfin, the biggest hurdle that faces people when they retire is the stigma of age. People tend to think that just because they’re 60 or 65, that they’re already old. But that’s just a fallacy. Age is merely a number that doesn’t necessarily reflect how you feel or what your life should be like.
It is often inspiring to see other people not giving up on their dreams regardless of their age. Grandma Moses, the artist and folk-art sensation whose paintings adorn the walls of museums around the country, had only started painting in her late seventies after working all her life on the farm. She continued to paint until the ripe old age of 101.
The Value of Experience
The idea of going back to work doesn’t appeal to everybody, especially those who had spent a lifetime as part of the proverbial rat race. But as one seminar about retirement strategies offered at Daniel Orfin and Associates recommends, joining the workforce again doesn’t mean one has to start from the bottom and climb up.
For someone with a lot of work experience, taking up a position as a consultant is a good way to put their skills to good use. A job, even a part-time one, is a way for a retired person to feel relevant and get a sense that their skills are still appreciated. As part of the stage called career intermission which follows retirement, a retiree gets to work at their own pace and feel more productive again with the option of staying part-time or working full time.
