On average, people over 65 spend more than 50 hours a week watching TV.
They spend less than an hour a week volunteering.
Yet, research shows that watching TV is associated with lower life satisfaction and contributing time to others is associated with higher life satisfaction.
Something is wrong.
We have the most healthy, highly skilled, wise retirees in large numbers yet little is done to encourage their staggering potential.
This potential is like new fuel bubbling up in every community in the country. How can it be converted to power schools, nonprofits, communities, and causes? We can begin by listening to inspiring stories about retirees all around us who are already quietly working to make the world a better place.
This is a collection of such stories. Real people doing real things to make this a better world.
About the Author
What will you do in retirement? Who will you become?
These are questions I ask myself.
I’m Mary Anne Casey, the person behind Retire for Good. I’m not retired yet, just planning ahead. The men in my family live well into their eighties. The women live well into their nineties. I could easily live 20 to 30 years after I retire.
What will I do with all that time?
To get ideas about what I might do, I am interviewing retirees who are thriving, who continue to give and grow—people living meaningful retirements. I want what they have. I want to know their secrets.
Much of what is written about aging focuses on problems—hip fractures, dementia, being victims of scams.
Instead, I want to focus on the positive. I have gathered the stories of retirees who spend a portion of their time on something other than themselves. I want to know what they are doing and how they managed to create a meaningful life.
What I am learning is too good to keep to myself, so I’m sharing it here:
It is entirely possible to do the most important and rewarding work of our lives after we retire.
My posts will focus on the positives:
- Stories of retirees who are sharing their time and talents
- The latest research on positive psychology and aging
- My personal observations
- Resources including books, links, videos, podcasts, and quotes.
If you want to learn how other people are living wholeheartedly in retirement, join me. Sign up here.
If you know someone I should interview, send me a note through the Contact page.
More About Mary Anne Casey
Mary Anne is a qualitative researcher. She teaches graduate-level research courses at the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan. She has a PhD in education and conducts research for nonprofits and government agencies. She co-authored the textbook Focus Groups: A Practical Guide to Applied Research. Mary Anne lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with her semi-retired husband.
“I’ve spent my career helping other people get answers to their questions. Now I am using my research skills to answer my own question: What can I learn from retirees who have created meaningful lives that will help me live with a twinkle in my eye to my last day?”
