However you choose to live your life, indisputable is the fact that you can only live a healthy and fulfilled life with enough drive. 

The lack of drive is the culprit for misery in retirement for some people. Look at the drive as the external force and internal force: the former is generated under the influence of the external environment or other people, while the latter is a self-initiated force. With its voluntary nature, the self-initiated internal force is stronger than the external force and the stimulation of which is crucial to happy retirement.

Step One: Set Your Goal and Plan

There would be no motivation without a proper goal. Find out the things you want to achieve during retirement. It can be the acquisition of knowledge, a new career, contribution to society, or better relationship with your family. The key is to figure out what you want, not what others want you to do. When reflecting on yourself, you'll learn your own definition and goals of life, and then you can start planning.

Step Two: Learn and Put Into Action

Once you've established a goal with a sound plan to go with it, you'll feel compelled to learn and put your knowledge into action. We'd learn the knowledge and skills we don't already have, and achieve our goal by practically using them.

A life fulfilled is a life of endless learning. With a sudden excessive reserve of time, some are at a loss as to what to do with the time on hand and choose to while it away. The result is a dwindling of motivation, a slower pace of life, lethargy, and poor health. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who try to keep their days and weeks packed with activities. Yet without a clear goal, they, too, would end up feeling desolated. A clear goal and careful planning are important as they motivate you to better manage your time, in order to live a wonderful life.

Step Three: Sense of Achievement

The feeling of making progress is invigorating – it brings a sense of achievement, which makes you feel good about yourself. The sense of achievement is one of the vital elements that strengthen the inner drive. It prompts your self-reflection on ways to improve yourself, which then transforms into a greater force to push you towards your goal.

Your life doesn't stop at retirement age. In some ways, it should be the time when you start living. Make no mistake though – a life fulfilled shouldn't be your retirement goal. What really matters is the internal drive, which is generated through self-reflection, establishment of life goals and planning. With enough self-initiated drive, your learning and action will be rewarded with a genuinely happy retirement.

Dr Wong Chung-kwong, JP
Chairman of Whole Person Development Institute

Continuous reading:
Staying Active in Your Body, Mind and Soul
Stay Active in Your Retirement