Retirement, after years of hard work and dedicated service, can feel like the best gift to give yourself - the golden years, promising freedom and leisure. However, these golden years are also a period of huge transition with feelings of loneliness and uncertainty creeping in.

Retirement after a bustling work environment with doing something or the other every day, can leave our elders feeling isolated and disconnected from the world. The daily structure, routine socialising, and the sense of accomplishment derived from work - are all discontinued one day, leaving a void behind.

While retirement may be an end to the ‘professional career,’ it opens up wide new doors of possibilities for our elders to fulfil themselves creatively. Rediscovering oneself after retirement can look like finding new hobbies, passions and finding a way to be connected to others.

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Here are 4 things you can do to get back towards yourself after retirement:

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1. Embrace new hobbies and interests: Retirement offers you a gift of time, allowing you to pursue things that you couldn’t before, due to other commitments. Use this time wisely to learn new hobbies like gardening, knitting, playing a sport, or painting. This will make you feel accomplished and calm your mind.
2. Cultivate healthy relationships: After being busy providing for everyone around you for so long, you finally have the time to be present with your closed ones. This can serve as an opportunity to make up for the lost time and cultivate healthier relationships with them. Try learning what makes them happy, find something to do together and have fun!
3. Stay entertained: This is a time where you can prioritise being entertained like never before! Whether it is watching movies, planning vacations, or spending quality time with family - there is nothing more important than doing the things that bring you joy.
4. Stay connected to community: One of the hardest things to deal with after retirement is to stay connected to people and regularly socialise. The lack of means to socialise gives rise to the feeling of isolation and loneliness. The best way to combat this is by finding community groups and becoming a part of them. This can mean society clubs, gymkhanas, and online clubs such as GenWise - anything which interests you and makes you happy.

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Retirement shouldn’t be looked at as an end of the journey - rather it’s the beginning of a new phase of life where you have all the freedom and time to explore. With the right connections, correct steps, and new explorations - everything is much more beautiful in your golden years!