Helping Your Community, Retirement Best

The last few months have been bogged down with conversations about people not being able to retire. Or those who have retired, being are forced to go back to work. Certainly this blog is not to minimize the impact and fear people are feeling in their lives. But, there are opportunities to explore in a new retirement life.

A lady came to me last week wanting to return to work to supplement her diminished funds. She is looking for work where she believes she's making a contribution. She wants to make a difference. Many retirees need to suppliment their retirement income, but also want to do good in the world.

For people who want to start a business, many are exploring Social Enterprise, the quest to both make money and do good. This is an excellent PowerPoint to learn more, from the Social Enterprise Alliance. http://ping.fm/iHbnU

I first learned about David Mills through the blogroll at Boomer Chronicles. David wrote the book 10,000 Days: A Call to Arms for the Baby Boom Generation which he discussed with us recently.

Boomers are exploring ways of doing well and doing good or just plane make the world a better place to live.

Goals: The Key to a Happy Retirement (and Life)

I was reading different blogs last week (I don’t remember which one), but the author of one wrote, “I don’t want to have goals right now.” I certainly know how she feels. Especially when most goals are centered around all the things we should be doing; losing weight, exercising, getting organized, etc. No wonder most people break their resolutions and goals soon after the new year.

As I wrote recently, I made a commitment to write my goals down this year. The goals I listed are mostly about the things I want to have in my life. One thing I want to do is enter my paintings in more shows this year. I submitted two paintings and one photo in the Thousand Oaks Art Association Open show this month and had the photograph and one painting accepted. I’m so delighted.

I’ll never know whether or not I would have submitted the art work to this show had I not written down my goals. All I can say is I had intended to enter more shows for the last two years and didn’t. I also hadn’t written my goals down.

There is three things I can say about goals. The first is to select goals that make your heart sing and are worth working for. Second, attach your goals to specific behavior. Don’t think, “My goal is to get more organized.” But instead, “I’m going to get more organized by spending one hour a week organizing. I’m going to organize my paper, bedroom closets, photographs and kitchen cupboards.

My art goal reads, " I will enter at least four shows this year. " Finally, identify the hour a week you’re going to organize. It helps if it’s consistent, but often that’s not possible. Finally, write the goals down.

We know baby boomers retirement is going to be different. The senior new to retirement can quickly fall into a dreary abyss with out a plan. Retirement goals become the foundation to how to retire happy. Share your goals for the upcoming year.