Retirement is a state which many of us dream when we are working. We think retirement means playing golf, no more boring work and just relaxing. Frankly, if you want to sit back and relax, it's the worst thing that can happen to you. Sitting on the couch, recalling old memories and criticizing how the world has changed in recent years can be extremely boring. Therefore retirement is not about relaxing on a couch and waiting to die, its about doing things that you have always dreamed of doing in your free time, things that will help the community, writing a book and may be write online articles like I do.
Not everyone of us retire with enough money to go on a Euro-tour or play golf as we want. It has been proven that after we retire, keeping our brain and body active helps us to live longer and also keeps our brain sharper. In order to retire happily it is very important keep working after your official retirement.
I actually know of some people who made more money after they retired and started working on a task they love. This friend of mine wrote a book about famous wine tasting and famous wines of America. Even thought its not a number one seller, he still gets some royalties out of it. Another friend voluntarily teaches English to kids of people who are challenged with the language, he has never been happier. One of my friend like to take photographs, he actually discovered his talent recently and now loves to take pictures of wild flowers and insects. Many of his pictures have been published on websites and local newspapers (thankfully he has some contacts too), but he does everything for free. This election I went to door to door campaigning for the presidential candidate I like and it was such a great relaxation for me.
A retirement without motive is nothing more than dying early. In order to retire happily you need to dig inside you all those hidden talents which got lost on your path to retirement.