The departure from working life - black hole or suddenly great freedom?
"Retirement is a new beginning, give your free time a new meaning now. You can travel when you like, and your boss will no longer be displeased. Now you only have to worry about yourself, you can finally dispose of your work clothes. You don't need an alarm clock to get up anymore, it won't be difficult for you to do without it. For decades you have always been dutiful, but now there is no more unnecessary loss of time. May you experience your retirement for many years, and never give up yourself in the process."
unknown author
The long-awaited freedom
Who hasn't imagined how colleagues surprise us with a nice saying on a card in a huge food basket on our retirement on our last day of work and how the boss bids us farewell into a well-deserved retirement, deeply moved and grateful for our years of work. Perhaps a brief queasy feeling comes over us at this.... But hey! We've been looking forward to this moment for years and for the last two years we've had a screen saver counting down the days to our longed-for freedom! And we would have liked to retire even a few years earlier anyway. Wouldn't we? Suddenly retired, that must be good.
Retirement - what now - will I suddenly become useless?
Don't worry! Saying goodbye to working life is a big and sometimes difficult step and a drastic experience. After all, everything is supposed to change from one day to the next, our accustomed routines and structures will be gone, someone else will be sitting at our workplace from tomorrow. Until now, we were productive every day - and now as a pensioner? Is there actually anyone who still needs us old iron? Are we old all of a sudden? Do we have plans for retirement?
It is completely normal that such a drastic experience as retirement does not pass you by without leaving a trace. It simply takes time to get used to the new situation and to see the many opportunities and freedoms you suddenly have. But if you find yourself in an emotional low for a long time, find out where you can get help before your depressed mood develops into a full-blown depression. Because that is a real danger, many people have great difficulty with change.
What should we do with the newly won free time?
Even if you haven't made any plans for your retirement, you should at least maintain a fixed structure. This gives you a certain stability in your everyday life. Continue to get up early (maybe not so early), maintain your morning ritual, read your newspaper, go for a walk.... Just do everything you can to get used to and comfortable with the change from work to leisure. You have lived according to fixed structures for years, and simply doing away with them from one day to the next is certainly not the right way for most people. Involve your partner as well. Are you already able to enjoy a lot of free time together or is he/she still working? In both cases, it also requires a certain adjustment on the part of the other person if the partner is suddenly at home every day.
Getting to know yourself anew
Have you been thinking about what you want to do long before you retire? No? Never mind, it's not too late to take stock. What did you like to do in the past, what hobbies did you enjoy? Did you always want to learn an instrument, be active in the arts or do voluntary work? What things have you always regretted that you couldn't spend more time on or were simply too exhausted to do after work? Is there a big question of meaning, such as your personal task in this world? All the interests that have fallen by the wayside can now be reclaimed. From now on, you no longer have to define yourself only by your profession, which gives you a great deal of personal freedom.
Learning new things - with pleasure together with others
Even though they are surrounded by many people at work every day, some still feel alone at work. The previous environment simply has other interests, the only common ground is/was work. Even if you have to deal with fewer people in retirement, you can be much less lonely because these contacts are usually more personal and intensive. And it's less important whether you hang out in the senior citizens' meeting place around the corner or in a lecture hall, for example. The same interest in something connects people, and you now have plenty of opportunity to pursue this.
Those who can't leave it alone - a part-time job as a pensioner
Many companies offer the possibility to work for a few days/hours a month after official retirement. Life and work experience is important to companies. The measure for remunerated secondary employment as a pensioner must be observed. Even those who have lacked the courage to become self-employed for years have the chance to build up a small business.
What gives meaning to my life?
The most important thing is the question of meaning. What do I want to do for the next years/decades? We need to realise that retirement is a way of life for the rest of our days and not an extended holiday where we will do nothing at all and recharge our batteries for the next round. Because the next round is now! And the longer such a holiday lasts, the more bored we become and the more dissatisfied we become. We need something to do and, wonderfully, we are allowed to choose it ourselves by and large.
What fulfils you, makes you proud and satisfied? For many, it is first and foremost their family, with whom they can finally spend more time. Perhaps one is also lucky enough to see one's grandchildren grow up and be a part of them. A new hobby can lead to deep satisfaction, alone or with others. Maybe the time has finally come to get that pet that you always wanted but didn't get because of lack of time and a job.
