This week I have been preparing to give a talk on retirement to one of my Toastmasters clubs. The reason I chose this topic is because my husband and I plan to retire from our full-time jobs one year from this month.

There are many aspects to planning for retirement. I find that Richard Bolles and John Nelson cover the key aspects very well in their book What Color is Your Parachute? For Retirement: Planning Now for the Life You Want.

The part of the book that was especially meaningful to me was the section the authors called “The Three Levels of Retirement Happiness.”

These levels consist of pleasant activities, which tie to your interests; engaging activities, which tie to your strengths; and meaningful activities, which tie to your values.

The authors point out that so often those who market their products and services to retirees or almost-retirees focus on the pleasant activities – the fun and enjoyment we all hope to experience in retirement.

Yet, research has shown that to have lasting happiness (whether in retirement or any time in life), a person also needs to have a sense of engagement and of meaning.

As the authors describe it, engagement involves demanding something from you, challenging you in some way. The key to have the challenge not be beyond your strengths or you will get frustrated, and not below your strengths, or you will get bored.

Then the meaning aspect of happiness consists of using your abilities in the service of something larger than yourself or something beyond yourself. Meaningful activities could range from getting involved with a political cause or party to simply helping your neighbors with some chores.

The social media examples that come to mind relating to pleasant, engaging and meaningful activities could be:

  • Pleasant: creating boards on Pinterest with pins that had beautiful photos or works of art.
  • Engaging: picking a social media platform you are new to and using your strengths to figure out how to use it
  • Meaningful: advocating for your cause via Facebook, Twitter or whatever platform would be appropriate

What do you think of the way that Bolles and Nelson describe these different ways to find happiness? Do some come more easily for you than others?

Joyce Feustel, Founder of Boomers’ Social Media Tutor, helps people relatively new to social media to become more effective and comfortable in their use of this medium. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com