The retirement parties are over, the plaque has been given and the well wishes for a happy, healthy retirement are done. You do not have to set the alarm and trudge off to work again… ever. What happens when you wake up for the first time as a retired person? A sense of giddiness fills your gut. It is like being a kid again on that first morning of summer break when you lay in bed and daydream about what you want to do all day. And then, a few months down the road, the reality of retirement sets in, and you wonder, “what have I done?”

Retirement expectations

I am really enjoying retirement and would not choose to go back to work. But, if I am being honest, occasionally I miss work. We had a couple meetings at a lawyer’s office to do some estate planning recently. Several of us sat around the conference room table and I was suddenly in a cloud of nostalgia. I was taken back to those years sitting around a conference table discussing work issues, planning projects or debating solutions. It was energizing and felt good to be a voice at the table that was making decisions. I felt a brief wave of sadness that those years were behind me.

That sense of nostalgia for work was a quick flash in the pan, but it got me to thinking about retirement expectations and happiness. Prior to retiring, you probably imagined yourself traveling the world, sipping margaritas by the pool all afternoon or playing endless rounds of golf. But the reality is that most retirees don’t do that every day. And if you did, it would probably not be a satisfying retirement life that would sustain you for the long haul. Anything, even the good stuff, can become stale when you do it all the time.

It is at this point that people often recognize that their retirement does did not meet expectations. Now what? Or perhaps you have been retired for a while and are in a bit of a rut, wondering if this is all there is. It is the start of a new year, so it is a good time reassess, flap your wings a little and get ready to soar.

Spread your wings and soar

We have a pair of bald eagles for neighbors. They have a nest in a tree that sits over the little lake we live on. Our new favorite past-time is sitting and watching these majestic birds in their natural habitat (exciting life we have🤪). They sit in the pine trees overing the lake and patiently watch for surfacing fish. Once they find what they want, they swoop down quickly and snatch it up. They wait. They observe. They go for it. Then… they soar.

I think that we could take a lesson from these powerful birds that represent strength, freedom, determination and courage. These are the very qualities that one needs to curate a satisfying retirement lifestyle. The new year is a mark on the calendar the signals a time for reflection and evaluation. Are you satisfied with your life, or do you want to take it up a notch?

If you are preparing to retire, or even if you are a few years in and not enjoying retirement the way you expected, then it is time to step back and observe. Look closely, with an “eagle eye” at different hobbies, interests and volunteer activities. Observe people enjoying a full and satisfying retirement. Ask yourself a few questions:

• What resonates with you?
• How would you like to be living in five years?
• When you look back on your life, what will you wish you had done during your retirement years?
• What do you admire about other retirees?
• What is holding you back?

There is no better time than retirement to live your dreams. Never before have you had the time, freedom and financial security to do what makes your heart sing. Curating a satisfying retirement lifestyle takes strength, determination and courage – the very qualities that bald eagles represent. It doesn’t happen by just laying on couch thinking about it.

“What if I fail? Oh, but darling what if you fly?”

author unknown

Let’s make 2026 our year to fly

So go ahead and take the first step. Spread your wings. Start the small business, call about the volunteer opportunity, join the gym, write the book, register for the class, join the Meetup group, invite the acquaintance for coffee, delve into your artistic side. See where it leads. You can’t soar until you flap your wings a little first.

Heck, we are retired so we have nothing to risk… except our preconceived notion of looking like we are in control and have it all together. We fear being the fool, the novice, or the one that does not have all of the answers. But we have everything to gain. Being curious and trying something new stirs our creative juices and adds texture to our lives.

I don’t want to look back in ten years and wonder what I did with my retirement years. As a nurse, I have seen too many people on their death bed dying with their song still in them. Living a life with too many regrets. And those regrets usually focus on the things they did not do. Not the things they did do. It is the family member that they did not reach out to after a falling out, or the adventure they did not pursue. So, let’s be bold, fierce, and strong like an eagle in these bonus years and live the retirement life that we will look back on with satisfaction and gratitude.

The beginning of the year is an ideal time to consider what you want your 2026 life to look like. Do you have some unsung dreams that you want to accomplish? Perhaps it is an adventure that is begging to be checked off of your list. Don’t wait until all of the stars align and the timing is perfect, because it is unlikely that will happen. As we get older, we recognize that we have more life behind us than ahead of us. It is a sobering awareness to live life fully today.

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow – what a ride!”

Hunter S. Thompson

Cheers to the retirement years!