Carpet Bowling, Oliver Seniors' Centre

According to Barry LaValley of the Retirement Lifestyle Centre, there are eight key factors contributing toward a happy and successful retirement:

1. Positive attitude towards aging and life transitions
-the ability to deal with changes in life, aging, and the different phases of life is an important part of a happy retirement.
2. Strong visions and values
-having a strong sense of life purpose with goals and dreams is another key factor.
3. Healthy aging
-a positive mental outlook on health as well as our physical state is also important.
4. Positive definition of ‘work’
- people contribute their skills, experience, labour or knowledge during their lives and when they leave the workplace many people still have a need to share these personal attributes.
5. Nurturing familial and marital relationships
- relationships shape our lives and give us a sense of purpose especially during retirement. If we lack these ties, then a good substitute is involvement in charity or non-profit organizations.
6. Supportive social network
- sharing ourselves is a basic human need, and our friendships and close relationships in retirement are very important.
7. Meaningful activities and leisure
- leisure is not "sitting around and doing nothing." Leisure should be stimulating, exciting, challenging as well as a relaxing diversion. Leisure activities often replace workplace activities and therefore they should have meaning.
8. Financial Comfort
- financial security does not guarantee a happy retirement. Being financially comfortable means living your life in a fulfilling way using the resources available, and many retirees are able to be happy with far less than others.

Source:
(1) "The Eight Key Factors of Retirement Success," The Retirement Lifestyle Centre Inc.
http://www.retirementlifestyle.com/lifeplanning/lifeplanning.htm