What is your mindset?

Retirement needs a new mindset. What is a ‘mindset’ you may ask. A new trendy psychological word? In essence, it is the way you look at life, and yourself. How you feel, and what you believe and think, and, in turn, how you behave. Needless to say, when you had to work, to raise a family, to maintain a relationship, and to keep fit and motivated, you had different priorities and therefore a different mindset. There was little time to develop yourself and think about your attitude. In fact, perhaps the thought of putting yourself first and considering your own needs would have been seen as selfish.

But now you are free of the need to work and, we hope, free of family responsibilities, this could be the time to develop a new attitude to life and self –to create a new mindset. This may sound like psychological waffle, but there is plenty of evidence that your mindset can make or ruin retirement, this very important part of life. A positive attitude can even prolong life. This is what is being termed a ‘growth mindset‘. It is worth researching this topic as proposed by Carol Dweck in books, video and a TED talk. When the concept is applied to retirement it suggests the following:

• An understanding that we are in control of our health and, although there is an inevitable decline in muscle strength with age, through regular suitable exercise, good nutrition and avoidance of risky ventures we can keep healthy and active. See later.
• Acceptance that we can continue to learn throughout retirement. What would you like to learn next? What new role will you take up? See later.
• We need good friends and a wide and expanding circle of acquaintances. If we are isolated and ignored, it has a profound effect on our morale and mental health. See later.
• We can gain satisfaction in creating something; perhaps through writing, art or music. See later
• There are rewards in giving back to our community perhaps through volunteering, mentoring, advising, caring, organising or teaching, See later.

The alternative, according to Dweck is a fixed mindset. Which suggests that nothing can be changed or improved after retirement; that what we know is all we know; that maintaining health and mental acuity is a downhill battle and that we are past contributing anything worthwhile to society. So what is your mindset?