I speak to so many baby boomers and other retired folks all the time, and they are either bored to death or having a tough time financially. These people do not know how to survive retirement, This has led to depression and even suicidal thoughts in some of the people I know. 
When we were young, the mantra was for many of us, “work hard and then enjoy yourself for the rest of your life after you retire”. The picture that was painted was a carefree, wonderful life experience once we finished working and were able to then just relax for the remainder of our days. This as we have learned is messed up thinking for a number of reasons.
How To Survive Retirement — Exposing The Myths of Retiring
There is so much misinformation out there about retirement overall, that unless you really did your homework over the years, it can be a very challenging situation later in life. First off, waiting many years to then be able to enjoy yourself is messed up. Why wait? One of the main reasons I started this blog is to address many of these issues, but also to emphasize finding something you enjoy doing so much that you have to search for reasons not to do it.
As my website caption says, “When you love what you do, why retire?”, and this goes for whether you need a few additional dollars or not. It fills the gap of any boredom you may experience, and once you have identified and embraced an idea that really means something to you, you have positively affected all aspects of your body, mind, and spirit, which also directly affects those around you as well.
As I have mentioned in many of my prior posts under the Baby Boomer category, there are practical ways and solutions to supplement one’s income if necessary, as well as ways to find other outlets for your interests if you are feeling lost or bored. But without identifying really what ignites your Passion Engine, many of these options will only be temporary fixes.
And this gets back to the many myths of retirement about waiting to enjoy your life. Life is Now and Always has been and always will be. The journey is where all the contentment and joy exists; it is not dependent on any final destination to provide happiness and satisfaction. 
I can continue to list many myths about the retirement game, and how our educational system has not done a very good job in preparing young minds to think about what they are able to create and what they can bring to the world which will make a positive impact. Or how to prepare our young folks with a solid financial foundation so they understand how the money game works, and can then prepare properly for both current and future financial needs.
A big part of life is acceptance. Wherever we are at this point in our lives, regardless of age, when we accept the present circumstances we are able to obtain the needed info to make constructive changes. We then have a starting point from which to build. We are able to identify what the next step is for us on our own unique journey through life.
Why Not Thrive Instead of Survive
Instead of asking how to survive retirement, why not ask how to thrive in retirement? When we do this, the survival thing will take care of itself. It’s like never having to set a goal to get out of debt (which actually keeps your focus on the debt — it’s that energy attraction thing) when by setting an objective to achieve this or that, the debt thing automatically gets taken care of.
Anyway, when we are totally honest with ourselves what we really want is to be safe and happy. That’s why each moment is precious, starting now. Everything else is an excuse because we are scared we may not get what we desire.
Things are never hopeless. I can name numerous stories and events of what people down through the ages have overcome in order to make progress in their lives. Just “know” you can be whatever you choose because you already are. It just a matter of ridding ourselves of excess layers of memories and false data that get in the way.
Beyond Survival 
Each of us is meant to achieve so much more than just getting by or allowing ourselves to live in a world of distractions. Within ourselves, we have our own unique purpose which is either being worked on and developed or is hidden within the deep recesses of our mind.
It’s time to pull it out of the closet of our minds, brush it off a bit, and get busy pursuing what we were meant to do in this lifetime. Big or small, it does not matter. We identify this purpose by how it makes us feel by just thinking about it. It starts with just being happy that we discovered it.
This is no small accomplishment. Some folks have discovered their purpose early in life, and others have still to uncover it. None of that matters. We are all here at this point in time for a reason, and we start from wherever we are and make progress.
This takes us beyond survival and living on purpose which gives meaning to our lives regardless of outside circumstances. Our life is what we have to share and express, and our life circumstances are only temporary events whether favorable or not at this point.
How To Survive Retirement — Bringing This All Together
It may have appeared that I went off on a few tangents here, but surviving our retirement years can be so much more than just getting by. It’s a time to discover meaning and purpose which we can share with others and the world. When we are driven by this higher purpose, all other things get taken care of similar to the debt example I gave a few paragraphs ago.
When we are just trying to get by then a problem which is a five (5) on a scale of 10 seems enormous. But when we are operating as a person in the eight (8) to ten (10) range of our potential, a number five (5) problem is a no-brainer with which to deal. We are all capable of being tens (10s) and welcoming any challenge which presents itself.
So take some quiet time for yourself and brainstorm a little. Discover what is in your heart to be and to do with your life. Let this discovery fuel and energize your day-to-day progress in life, and with this new vision, any challenges or problems will be the only details to handle along the way.
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May you All discover what truly inspires you!
Joseph
Hi Joseph,
I enjoyed reading your article very much. I am also retired and doing what I love, working from home. It gives a sense or purpose and bring me satisfaction of helping others solve problems they may have as well. Not to mention, getting that nasty notion of wondering how you are going to make ends meet addressed permanently.Then the road to happiness is a smoother journey. I went through a divorce late in life, and that cut everything I had planned on having in half and doubled the expenses. So, even the best laid plans need a plan B…Thanks, for the informative and thought provoking post!
Chas
Thanks Chas for your comment. Good to hear you are enlying what you love to do and helping many others in the process. Always good to have a Plan B as we do live in a world of change and uncertainty. All the very Best to You.
The prevalent thought among many young individuals is to work the best they could and enjoy the rest of their lives. However, more often than not, this is not the case as so much people do not have a working plan in place and just expect life to take it’s course. The best thing would be to have a viable and working plan as regards retirement.
So very true. Thank you for your comment. There is always an answer once we decide the journey and not worry about the result which usually turns out better than we anticipated even with all the needless worrry.
Hey there and thank you for this great article. This is really something we should think about once we get close to that age. I am still not close by the way, but my parents are and I can see that they do not feel best about the change that is going to happen to them.
I am going to share your views with them and let them know that its nothing too scary, especially because they got each other.
Regards,
Strahinja
Thanks so much Strahinja. Yes your parents have each other and that means more than all the gold or even all the fiat currency in the world. The love they have will carry them through. They can look back at all their previous successes and know that they can accomplish anything just one small step at a time. All the Best. Joseph
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on retirement. As a middle school/high school teacher who is planning to retire at the end of this school year, I was especially interested in your comment about the educational system and students. From my observations, the educational system’s focus is on getting students on to the next grade level, college, or into a first job. Sadly, retirement, and planning a life around passions, and what each individual can bring to the world, gets little, if any coverage. Perhaps I’ll work on creating curriculum on this topic when I no longer have a classroom to report to!
I also love your focus of living life on purpose, and have bookmarked your site so I can return to it often. Starting from where we are each day, and making progress is also a comforting and uplifting goal. Thanks for presenting such a positive article.
Thanks for your comments Nancy. I think that with your background and knowledge you will put together an effective curruculum to address some of these issues and thereby make a significant positive impact in the lives of others. There is a great need to teach students “how” to think rather than merely “what” to think.
Hi Joseph,
I too, see so many that retire and end up being either unhappy, struggling with finances, or just plain bored. Although I’m not at the age to be able to retire yet, according to normal standards anyways, I’d love to retire! But, only from my day job, lol… so, I can fully get to work on my own business and not have to worry about answering to a boss!
I agree, the schools have certainly been lacking when it comes to teaching us about finances and the whole work force and job field…schools seem to just push kids towards getting a “good” job and they’ll be able to retire and live happily ever after. They seem to ignore any actual creativity and instead of nurturing it, many schools actually stifle it, in my opinion…in the past couple years, I started doing some freelance illustration work, something I’d never thought possible thanks to what the general opinion of a career in the artistic field has always been, and according to how the teachers and schools always pushed me way back then to get a “real” job.
I almost gave up art altogether because of it, and did quit doing artwork for over 10 years, while working at mediocre jobs and struggling to get by…surviving instead of thriving as you say. It never felt right, and I finally woke up to start following my dream, if that makes sense, lol.
I definitely agree, we all have a purpose in life, and if we just keep ignoring it, or think that it isn’t possible because of what others say, we’ll never be happy or feel content with our life and where it’s headed. I truly wish I’d have seen I had a purpose sooner in life, but it is what it is…I guess maybe a person needs to be ready to acknowledge it first and not let the fear of failure stop you.
Watching my kids go through school and listening to coworkers, it sounds like the schools teach the same as they did over 20 some years ago…go to college, get a degree, and get a “good” job…nothing at all about creating your own business and finding out how you can do things to help other people.
I hope this changes soon, it’s very sad to see so many unhappy people working jobs they have to struggle to get by in life, thinking they’ll find happiness in retirement, only to find more disappointment. I certainly agree, why not start today to live the life we’d love…find that purpose and act upon it, not wait until retirement to do the things you love and to be happy.
We only have so much time here, so make it worth it! Anyways, thank you for sharing such an inspiring post, Joseph! Lol, you sure got me fired up and inspired, I can’t wait to read more here!
Best wishes ~Sherry
Thanks so much Sherry. You are definitely on the right path and we all wake up to our purpose at different times and it’s all good. No need for any regrets. The school system will evolve over time but kids will be able to recognize and act on their creative urges because of role models like yourself.
No need to wait on any organized entity to do it for us. We have the power and opportunity right this very moment. I look forward to you continuing to make a contribution through your artwork and mindset. You will draw so many fortunate folks to you and bring value to their lives.
Take care and enjoy your Journey. Joseph
Those golden years are met to be enjoyed and the only way that can happen is through proper planning as far as our finances are concerned and setting other goals if I can use that word on what we want to do. It is like having a map or blueprint for retirement. I believe if we take steps like these we will enjoy our retirement.
I totally agree Norman. Thanks so much for your comment.
Great articIe!
I totally agree, that real living shouldn’t start until after retirement, life starts from the moment we are born until the day we die, i read some stories online about (elder)people that were in their death beds, they were mostly about *what if i had done this or that* regrets, Its awful to leave this world while you know that you haven’t even scratched your potential or didn’t do the things you truly love to do,
I choose to live and enjoy now, this is world & life is full of amazing wonders and deep inside of us there is a light waiting to shine!
thank you, you just inspired another human being today 🙂
Mark
Thank so much for your comments. Life is Now and always has been. Being content with the present moment with no regrets.
Hi Joseph,
I see so many people who are old before their time. When I talk to them I discover they are carrying the world on their shoulders, not because they need to, but because they choose to.
I absolutely agree with your point: how you face life is a choice, and it is up to you to make that choice.
Waiting for other people or circumstances to make the choice for you is a sure route to stress and misery!
Cheers,
Martin.
Thanks for your comments Martin. People just need to realize that they have the power of choice in every moment and let go of the rest which is holding them back. Not easy but doable.