We live in a difficult time, with economic uncertainty, climate change, and a world that focuses more on capitalistic consumerism than ever before.
Thanks in part to the internet, the average person is now more well-informed about global affairs than ever before, and it means that it can be extremely difficult to keep hopeful when the future looks like it might be quite bleak.
This is especially prevalent for those who are getting ready to enter retirement and may be feeling that they won’t be able to survive all of the potential calamities that could happen in the next few decades. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to remain hopeful and enjoy a fulfilling retirement.
Avoid Negative Media
The human brain has a natural inclination toward negative stimuli – this makes sense, as our ancestors living in the wild would have needed to always be prepared for the worst.
But this negativity bias in a modern world of constant information and opinions means that it’s very easy to start giving in to all the negativity, and it can also lead to depression and anxiety. But it’s vital to remember that negative media is what sells, which is why it’s usually pushed more than positive stories.
There is a lot of positivity in the world, with hundreds of millions of people actively working toward a better future every day. If the news and social media is becoming overwhelming, it might be worth taking a break or avoiding it completely forever.
Learn To Live In The Now
One of the reasons that we fear for the future is because it feels like it’s completely out of our control, and that whatever choices we do make won’t be able to affect the overall outcome of the world. But this is a perspective that’s inherently flawed, and its why so many big problems tend to get overlooked.
While we can’t change the world by ourselves, we can focus on the world that’s immediately around us, and to put more effort into enjoying life as it is right now rather than worry what might happen in the future. We each have our own, limited emotional capacity, and worrying about the future all the time leaves very little room to try and enjoy what we have at the moment.
Join A Community
Without the persistent need to always be working, those in retirement will find that they have a lot more time available to pursue their individual interests or meeting new people. Sitting at home all day, every day, is not good for anyone’s mental health, especially when we consider that we social animals.
Joining a local community can offer a sense of purpose and belonging, and being exposed to other opinions and learning about what’s going on in the surrounding area can often help ease the fears of the future.
This can be in the form of a book club, a bird watching group, or even just a few people interested in swapping slots bonus codes for casinos. Sometimes we have to step back from the global arena and instead focus on what’s happening around us, including the local people.
