How many times have you asked yourself this question now that you are retired?
Some of the time, you will items scheduled – the daily gym trip, the walk around the neighborhood, the morning coffee, etc. But every now and then, there’s the void. Vacant time without any thought as to what to do with it. This is normal, but can be very frustrating, since it can weigh on you if the question becomes too frequent and you have no answers.
So, how do you elude this void? How do you ensure that at the end of the day you feel fulfilled?
The answer is openness and curiosity. And to assist you in getting to openness and curiosity, we offer the following directive – GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Repeat – GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!
Now that you know you have to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE, what are you going to do? You don’t have to plan a golf trip to Scotland, but before you leave the house, you should do some homework, so you don’t end up wandering around with no purpose. Take out a map and pinpoint some new or places special to you that are within a 30 – 45-minute drive from your home.
Here’s a list of places that you may want to consider:
- A new restaurant
- Historical sites
- Beach towns
- River towns
- Colleges
- Parks
- Downtown areas
- Religious sites
- Wineries
- Brew pubs
- Scenic viewing areas
- An old school
- An old neighborhood
But the key to these “adventures” is to let your curiosity rule, plan ahead and then spend the better part of the day at wherever you decide to go. Use the web and see what there is for whatever location you pick. You also may just want to go and wander around. For example, for a beach town trip, you probably want to walk the beach, catch lunch at a place that serves a favorite, observe the crowd and just kick back and sit in the sand. In a downtown area, you may want to jump into some stores, check out local favorites, find out where the locals eat, and just walk the area. A park presents hiking trails, maybe a boat ride on a lake, and if you planned ahead, a picnic. You are inquisitive and open to whatever comes your way.
The opportunities are numerous, as listed above, and I’m sure you can come up with others given your interests and curiosity. With your spouse or significant other, discussing these day excursions opens even more areas of interest, places to visit and explore, and planning these trips can be fun and very fulfilling.
So, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and be open to new experiences or revisiting old enjoyments.