When it comes to having a wonderful retirement nothing is more important than our mindset, our psychology.  

Sure, finances are important but there are many retirement age people who are very wealthy and miserable. Of course there are also those with very limited means who are as happy as can be.

Happiness researcher psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky talks about the 50-10-40% formula.

50% of happiness is determined by your genes.

10% of happiness is determined by the circumstances in which you live.

And 40% of happiness is determined by your actions, your attitude or optimism, and the way you handle situations.

The 50% is your set-point, or your nature… some people are just naturally happier than others. 10% is determined by our circumstances or events, our finances, health, family issues, etc. ALL of that determines about 10% how our happiness.

And 40% is determined by our psychology and actions… 40%! That’s a huge percent. Imagine if you could control 40% of the weather… or 40% of the traffic. 

Understanding that we can choose how to interpret the events of our lives can have a HUGE impact on the quality of our day to day lives.How do you see your retirement years? Are they your Golden Years or are you Over the Hill. Our psychology is largely impacted by the words and metaphors we use in our thought process.

Do you see your retirement years as a period of decline or of new adventures?

During these episodes you’ll often hear me talk about our “Encore Years”. It’s my belief that we have saved the best for last. We have 60 or more years of experience to invest into this years… into this day. We’ll explore many ways we can increase our happiness…  and reduce our anxiety & fear.

We want our encore to be fun, exciting, energizing. Our encore is what we do, it’s how we do what we do. An Encore mindset says, “I’m going to give it all I have. I’m going to have a blast and I’m going to WOW anyone who’s paying attention.

The reality is your Encore is going to be how you do many things.

I have several small businesses, side-hustles & gig businesses… I’m a Encore Entrepreneur. My Encore includes being a grandfather… and I’m trying to extraordinary in that role. I’m a husband, father, son and brother… I’m striving to be better at all of these things as part of my Encore.

My Encore includes a little fishing, hiking and spending time at the beach. My wife’s encore includes being a watercolor artist. 

I have friends who’s encores include cruises, riding in Harley groups, playing paddle tennis. You can do anything for your ENCORE… but think about it… is reading the newspaper and watching TV and Encore? Hey, I know much of this has to do with our health and vitality… we can only do what we can do.

What do you think? Instead of being Over the Hill are you ready to live your ENCORE? Are you ready to take more control of your happiness? Are you ready to adopt words, metaphors, beliefs and actions affect the 40% of your happiness that you have control over in a positive way?

Adopting an “Encore Mindset” may seem strange. I get that… but hey, you’ve done a lot of strange things in your life… right?

Until next time, all the best,