Throughout our life we go through different stages, some of them marked by time (childhood, adulthood, old age, ...), and others marked by life events that involve the passage from one to another (living as a couple, marriage, children,… ).
One of these milestones in our lives is The retirement, generally forced, marked by legal imperative.
During adulthood we dedicate all our time to work, with the same routines and the same schedules. When retirement arrives, this changes.
A series of changes appear: in economic income, in social status (an important defining social role is lost), in social relationships (social contacts are reduced, especially those related to work) and in free time ( increases in quantity). All these changes can generate insecurity and anguish about the future.
Taking into account all these changes, it is necessary to prepare the moment, in such a way that we can adapt to the new situation. For this, the so-called Retirement Preparation Programs (PPJ).
These programs seek to advise the person who is going to retire as to the attitude to adopt. With her the feeling of loss that can arise after the loss of an important social role (that related to work). In addition, the person is helped to plan the new life stage from their motivations and potentialities.
The first key, and most important, is that retirement is another stage of life, neither better nor worse. It is a period full of opportunities for personal growth and development. We retire from work but not from life.
We must prepare in advance, when we are still active; we must introduce small and progressive changes in our daily routine, in order to favor a better adaptation later in the retirement stage.
Another tip is to prepare a list of activities we would like to carry out when we have more free time. During retirement it increases in quantity, so it is necessary to restructure it. One option is to get involved in new sports, cultural or leisure tasks.
A good alternative is found in the programs for people over 60 years old that many Spanish universities develop, called “fourth cycle programs”, “classrooms for the elderly” or “university of experience”; Through them, we can become university graduates in the area that interests us the most.
Related to the latter, it is very important to maintain a healthy life style, doing physical exercise and eating an adequate diet. The benefits of both are widely known to all, including positive effects on mood..
The positive mood contributes to a better adaptation to life changes, learning from its advantages and disadvantages.
Equally important is planning activities with others. Social contacts that are lost with job abandonment can be replaced by new ones. Social relationships offer an important support network, which also contributes to a better adaptation to the changes that come into retirement.
Here are some tips that can help us as we approach retirement age. The most important is plan the process in advance and be always active, physically, cognitively and socially.
Because retirement is not the beginning of the last stage of life, but of one more of its stages and, according to different studies, one of the happiest.
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