Speaker 1: Have you ever noticed this. Two people retire at the
same time, maybe the same year. They're about the same age,
similar income, similar health, and five years later, one is energized,
they're excited, they're connected, they're learning new things, they're traveling,
they're growing, and the other one is bored, they're isolated,
they're frustrated and maybe a little bit disappointed. But what
makes the difference. It's not luck, it's not money, although
that helps, and it's not even health, although that helps too,
at least not entirely health. It's habits. So today I
want to share five habits that I've noticed in retirees
who truly thrive. I'm Maureen Dobranski. This is life starts
at retirement. I produce a retirement lifestyle video once a week.
So when you retire, no one now tells you when
to wake up, no one sets your deadline, no one
really expects anything from you. And that freedom can feel
absolutely amazing, or for some people it can feel confusing,
it can feel destabilizing. So the retirees that thrive seem
to create their rhythm. They often have a morning routine,
they move their bodies at certain times, they schedule social connections.
They make sure to get out of the house. They
plan their weeks or their days with intention. They don't
just drift through retirement. They design their retirement. Because here's
the truth, too much unstructured time doesn't often create happiness
for most people. It creates a little bit of wrestling blessness.
It creates uncertainty. So freedom, although that's one of the
big things that retire They say they want is more freedom.
But too much freedom actually needs framework, It needs some
kind of a habit around it. Number two, they move
every single day. Now I don't mean like running marathons movement,
but I do mean consistent movement. They either walk, they stretch,
they do some kind of training, They golf, they swim,
or even they just get out of the house for
some movement. Now, I want to tell you just a
little bit about my mom. When my mom and dad,
when my dad was alive, my mom and dad would
get out of the house every single day when they
were in Arizona. Oftentimes it just meant going to watch
a ballgame just down the road, and the ballgames were free.
They could sit there, talk to the other people at
the game, watch the game, and at least they got
out of the house. In Edmonton where they lived. It
was often cold and ugly, but even still they would
go to the grocery store on the coldest, most horrible,
snowy days. But they got out of the house every
single date. And I really firmly believe that contributed to
much of why they thrived so much in retirement, because
many thriving retires understand that that movement is powerful, that
strength maybe equals independence, that mobility equals freedom, that energy
equals opportunity. The retires who struggle often just slowly stop moving,
not maybe dramatically, oftentimes it's gradual and they don't really
realize it, but that gradual decline changes everything. It changes
their mood, their confidence, they're so life their energy. The
ones who thrive treat movement like brushing their teeth. Maybe
it's non negotiable. They move every single day, So think
to yourself, when was the last time you really moved again,
not running a marathon, but actually moved intentionally. Number three,
they build new connections, And this one is huge because
thriving retirees don't really rely on, or can't often rely
on their own circle. Because when you retire, oftentimes that
one circle with work, with your companions at work, etc.
Goes away. So thriving retirees, no, they have to find
a new circle or increase their circle because now they
have so much more time to fill. So they often
they'll join clubs I talk about that, they'll take classes,
they'll volunteer, they say yes to any invitations they introduce
themselves because they understand that community doesn't just continue like
I say. Sometimes those work people, you'll stay in contact
with them, but in a different way. So it has
to be built and built bigger and wider. So there
was struggle that retirees though, who struggle. They'll often say, well,
my friends are busy or no one invites me anymore,
and it's not like it used to be, and I
don't know what to do. But thriving retaries they don't wait.
They initiate because their connection is intentional. So even though
it may be difficult to go outside of your comfort
box comfort comfort box, they do because they know they
need to expand and continue having social activity with others.
Number four, they keep learning, keeping their mind busy. And
this might be one of the most underrated habits out
there because retiring thry retirees who thrive are often curious,
and I love that word curious. It's one of my
favorite words. They will learn new technology, they'll maybe try
new hobbies. They'll start YouTube channels, how crazy is that.
They'll take courses, they read more, they read different things,
they ask questions. They don't freeze themselves in the decade
they retired. That sounds harsh, but a lot of people do.
They've quit work and they learned. They knew this much,
and I get it. When you first quit work, the
default is often to do nothing. Okay, great, take that
time and do nothing. But then once that two weeks
to two months is over, then start exploring new things.
But oftentimes people freeze where they left work and they
don't learn anything more. But we know that thriving retirees
they evolve. They want to learn more, they want to
see the world, they want to experience different things. The
ones who struggle often quietly say things like Ooh, I'm
too old for that. Ooh that one really gets to me,
whereas thriving retires say, why not, let's try it. Curiosity
keeps the brain alive. Yeah, curiosity killed the cat, but
curiosity keeps the brain alive. Growth keeps the spirit alive.
So retirement really isn't the end of your learning. It's
not the end of your expansion. It's the beginning of it.
And number five. Number five, they find a purpose, I guess,
they find a reason to get up in the morning.
And this is a big one because now you have
twenty four hours a day, seven days a week to
fill and no one, no boss, no coworker, no one
is telling you how to fill it. It's all yours.
So once you adjust to having those twenty four hours,
and once you've sort of unwound from being at work
so much, oftentimes with retiree's boredom sets in. And that's
where you need what I call app purpose. You don't
need to volunteer necessarily to change the world, you don't
need to be mother Teresa. But you need a reason
to get up in the morning. And I tell retirees
all the time, this is how most people find a
reason to get up in the morning. They ask themselves
some of these questions, things like what did you love
to do when you were a kid, What did you
love about your job? What makes you smile, what do
you love doing, what do you what passes the time?
Quickly for you, what do you want to learn? Did
you always want to learn a language? What did you
want to do when you were young? What did you
think you were going to do as a career but
it turned out that you didn't do that as a career.
Ask yourself all of these questions, and then slowly you
have to put yourself out there again, slowly start adding
them back into your life through classes, through online classes,
through YouTube videos, through whatever means it is. You have
to put yourself out there and ask yourself these questions
and then find the answers to these questions that gives
you a purpose, a reason to wake up in the
morning once that initial woo euphoria of retirement fades, because
it will fade for most people. So here's the honest truth.
Thriving isn't about perfection. Thriving isn't about doing this great, big,
huge thing in retirement. Thriving is about making small daily dishes,
decisions maybe around your structure, your movement, your connection, your curiosity,
and a reason to get up in the morning. No
one really drifts into a thriving retirement. No one's gonna
knock on your door and not going knock knock knock, moreing, Hello,
do you want to do this with me? No, no
one's going to do that unless you put it out there,
So thriving retirees build it. And if you're already retired,
I would say ask yourself this, which of these habits
are you doing well? Which one needs attention? And if
you're approaching retirement, start now, don't wait. Don't just retire
from something, retire into this amazing life. Retire into something.
And I'd love to know which of these five do
you think is more important and which one do you
need to work on. Let's talk in the comments. I'm
Morning Dabranski, Miss Life starts at retirement. I mentioned i'd
produce a retirement lifestyle video. What's a week? Excuse me?
I have an amazing Facebook group, thirty five thousand people
in it. It's at Facebook dot com slash group slash
Life Starts at Retirement. And thank you so much for
being here. I'll see you in the next one.