There Will Be More Changes Than You Think –

Coming up on retirement or recently retired? Think you’ve planned out and locked-down your retirement lifestyle for the years ahead? Not so fast pal. All those things you think you will spend your retirement doing will most likely change if not end. They are part of the shifting sands of retirement passions. Don’t sweat it. What we do in retirement evolves as our passions zigzag and change. It happens to most of us. But the key to enjoying this ride instead of lamenting a hole in our lifestyle lies in picking up some good retirement habits and ditching some bad ones.

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Managing Retirement Passions For Inevitable Change

Planning Our New Retirement Lifestyle Based on Today’s Passions

We all know the importance of retiring to something and that includes our passionate pursuits. They include all the hobbies, sports, travel, and having a robust social life. In my case it also included some working pursuits.

They are the things we love doing, so why wouldn’t we believe it’s exactly what we will do during our retirement life? We certainly should budget for them in both our time and money. It’s a prudent retirement plan assumption. But realistically, those planned interests may only stay with us for part of our retired life.

The reason our passions will shift is we can either settle into a less than hot romance with them or completely fall out of love. That’s right, romance and love. Seems that things we love doing when we were under rat race schedules and obligations can lose steam once we retire and have all the time we want with them. Oh, it’s still hot and heavy initially in retirement. But I can tell you as time goes by, interest can wane on some of our retirement passions as our retirement lifestyle matures. I have seen this happen to me and with others. It is a normal progression for most people, one that we don’t initially think about or plan for in our retirement.

How We Should See Our Retirement Passions

Strike when it’s hot, set it aside when it’s not. Don’t worry about shifting retirement passions because if we are diligent then other things will either replace or push for its evolution. Sometimes what we enjoy and are passionate about today will open the door later on for something we consider better. In my case I followed many passions early in my retirement years that I no longer care to pursue. Others have cooled but are still enjoyed. I now even find myself pursuing interests that weren’t on my retirement radar years ago. In any case, when retirement passions fun hot, lean into them. Don’t be afraid to display your passions and interests either.

The Retirement Habits to Ditch

Rigid to a fault –

It’s common to plan on doing something you love to do throughout your retirement and sometimes with heavy frequency. But it’s like the old joke: Patient- Hey Dr., it hurts when I do this. Dr.- Then stop doing that.

The same goes for our retirement passions. When it hurts or stops being enjoyable, stop doing it or at least less frequently until the passion killing issue is worked out, one way or another.

Comfort zone ruts –

When we no longer are told what to do anymore or have to compete we can go overboard avoiding anything challenging. Retirement can have us wanting everything to be under our full control and easy. This can lead to boredom with anything we enjoyed doing.

Overdoing it –

The other end of human behavior is jumping into a passion like it’s a sprint when it should be a marathon. Nothing kills a retirement passion like becoming tired of it and burned out because of going overboard. It can turn into a unrewarding obligation and burden. Not to mention the possibility of physical injury overdoing active pursuits.

The Retirement Habits to Cultivate

Use moderation to save waning passionate retirement pursuits –

Learn to recognize that a change is necessary before it dies. If it’s something important in your retirement and lifestyle then figure out what needs to be done by pulling back on an overboard pursuit.

Spice things up –

Learn to recognize signs that you are in a rut. Spicing up a too comfortable and easy pursuit will keep it interesting and enjoyable.

Staying curious –

There are always different ways that things are done. Allow yourself to wonder what you could do differently to improve a pursuit. Also stay open to new pursuits and challenges that may appeal to you. Be curious to identify, fully investigate, and research new interests. Exploring different ideas and activities can be an enjoyable pursuit in itself.

Be open to new things, but also be able to say no –  

Balance sticking to things to explore it to the fullest. We all know we can do poorly at first with something new and it requires time to find out if it will become a valued pursuit. But stop once you’ve lost your romance with the challenges of a new pursuit or the passionate interest itself. It’s OK to say it’s not your thing and just move onto something else that will be.

Migrate toward family, friends, and community –

When in doubt, follow what’s natural. There are folks who have nothing they are passionate about doing. Others burn through what the thought they would enjoy doing throughout their retirement and found later that they no longer do. They have no idea how to fill the void that’s left. Passions can be found in simple interaction with those we care about. Volunteering, family activities, and cultivating a good social circle are naturally needed, enjoyable, fulfilling, and rewarding pursuits.

With over 9 years of retirement behind me, I have seen some of my passions run their course, change, or be replaced with new ones. There are necessary considerations for any retiree to mentally and financially manage as time passes and our retirement passions evolve.