Do you want an edge in retirement? Be a life-long learner and nurture yourself creatively and intellectually.
“Keep learning new things every day, keep growing inside every day, keep progressing each day, keep becoming a better version of yourself every second.”
Unknown
When September rolls around, I always get a feeling of nostalgia for the time I spent early in my career as an educator. As the summer came to an end, I looked forward to being with my students as we prepared for another year of learning new things and getting to know each other.
I have always loved learning. I continue to this day to be interested in the things I don’t know and am curious about. I started my career as a teacher and high school counselor, so I believe in the importance of lifelong learning no matter what stage of life you’re in. If you, too, love to learn, you have a creative and intellectual edge in retirement.
There are many other good reasons why we, as adults leaving full-time work, should continue that curiosity and quest for knowledge. As we welcome the beginning of another school year, I’d like you to think about your own continuing education. Think about how you—as an individual and as part of a partnership—can continue learning and growing as you enter your midlife years. This is an important aspect of looking ahead as you think about your retirement career.
Stay Interested And Interesting
Do you jump at the chance to take an in-service seminar or course related to your work? Are you more enthusiastic if the seminar or course is more related to something personal? Some of us want to learn more and keep our edge by staying current in our profession, but some just want to get out of the office for a few hours or days. The critical question is: when you’re not at work anymore, how will you build lifelong learning into your routine?
How will you keep that edge in retirement, stay current with what’s going on in the world, and most of all, be interesting and interested? After you leave work, you will have to be intentional about pursuing learning opportunities.
How many times have you seen older couples or friends sitting in a restaurant with very little to say to one another? Often, they are on their phones. Although this can happen at any stage of a relationship and life, we are especially vulnerable to that happening as we transition from work to retirement and there is less intellectual stimulation built into our lifestyles. Just because you’re retired, however, doesn’t mean you have to lose your desire to learn. You don’t have to be any less interesting.
One of the biggest challenges for our boomer generation will be staying engaged in life and being seekers of knowledge. It keeps us curious about life and others as we share new experiences with each other. Unfortunately, many of our parents and grandparents just retired to a “life of leisure” so we don’t have many good role models to follow.
You can choose to keep your creative and intellectual edge in retirement. Be curious. Learn something new every day. Share your discoveries with friends.
The Benefits To Your Life And Relationships
As you learn, you’ll enjoy several benefits to your relationships. Lifelong learning:
• Promotes youthfulness (read more at “Lifelong learning and youthfulness”)
• Creates richer conversations when doing new things either separately or together with friends
• Provides an opportunity to learn more about your partner or friend
• Encourages intellectual stimulation
• Expands your social life
• Keeps you more interesting to yourself and others
• Adds variety to your lifestyle
• Creates ways to add to the legacy you will leave your family and friends
Make sure you stay interesting and interested in life so you can make the best of your life for the rest of your life.