The key word for motivation is connections. When you have strong connections to friends and family you significantly improve your sense of motivation to be more involved and active. When everyone is so busy, how do you make these connections stronger?

Connecting to Others

When you are employed you have a busy work schedule and you consistently organise your life and activities around it. When that schedule is gone, it opens up the opportunity to fill that time with your own choices. Those choices will determine how connected you remain with friends and family. If you don’t continue to have a diary or a schedule, it is possible that the days will disappear and you may find yourself wondering where all the time went and where did everybody go!

Having strong connections to others is a nurturing process supported every time you get together. It benefits you, but it also enriches everyone else’s life.

Food and family

Having some more time available is a fantastic opportunity to explore the art of cooking and entertaining. Think of Mary Berry from the Great British Bake Off who is in her eighties and still loving having people over so she can cook for them.

You don’t even have to be a great cook, just inviting the family over for tea one night a week for something simple like bangers and mash is something that everyone loves and looks forward to. It can be a pot-luck tea if you can’t provide for that many people on a regular basis, where everyone brings a dish to share. It is all in the organising, putting it in the diary and making it happen. This is the kind of connecting that enhances the whole unity of a family and provides those wonderful times of talking, listening and supporting each other.

Hobbies!

Finally a chance to spend lots of time doing what you love! But don’t do it on your own all the time, hobbies are the perfect opportunity to get together with birds of a feather, people who love what you love. The old arts are growing a huge new following, with knitting and crotchet groups everywhere, with on-line Instagram groups offering loads of inspiration and ideas.

Retirement is your chance to meet new friends who are in the same boat as you. For example the Rose Society of South Australia (or where-ever you live) are always looking for new members. They have regular meetings and do fund raising activities together at the various rose shows.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to paint or draw; get your hands dirty with pottery or do you want to make a beautiful patchwork quilt? This is a time to try everything and have some fun.

University of the Third Age (U3A)

Just because you have retired doesn’t mean you can’t continue learning and studying, except now you do it just because you are interested, not to get a career out of it. The University of the Third Age is an international movement which was formed with this is mind. They also offer social opportunities to get together to enjoy the Arts, musicals, performances, theatre and to attend events of all kinds that nourish your intellectual and cultural cravings. This is a group who will motivate you to read books you haven’t considered and to make friends with very connected and involved people.

Your Relationship

Retirement may mean a lot more time spent with your spouse, in fact more than you can cope with sometimes if you are spending too much time at home. Continue having a family diary and organise both of you to do things together and apart. You are individuals and have different interests. When you continue being involved with those interests or make new friends in your new pursuits, it only serves to enhance your time together. You will have so much to talk about and share, plus you can both attend social events from each other’s respective new interests.

Exercise to Connect

Retirement is a great time to join a walking group. They are everywhere and always happy to invite new members along. Walk and talk is a fantastic way to connect with others, support each other, make friends and keep yourself healthy.

Tennis clubs, lawn bowls, ten-pin bowling, swimming, the options are all there, and you will find many like minded people also wanting to have a retirement which is not boring and not lonely.

If you are interested, contact details:

U3A – www.adelaideu3a.on.net

Ph 08 8359 3307

For a list of walking/hiking groups in South Australia: www.walkingsa.org.au

For all sorts of gatherings and groups: www.meetup.com

We live in houses with fences. Go outside and say hello to someone, or pick up the phone and make occasions happen, because we all need to connect. Connections are what makes everyone happier, more motivated and living a richer life.

Erica Fotineas