Often our concerns about retirement are purely financially. I can’t tell you about the number of conversations I’ve had with people who were worried about the financial aspects of retirement… and they’re right to. 

Having a clear financial plan and working incrementally towards achieving that financial plan is one step towards having the retirement (or next chapter of your life).

But here’s the problem. Money alone doesn’t equal fulfilment. Whilst I’d suggest it’s a hygiene factor it’s only a part of the puzzle.

So, what if I told you that Aristotle – writing 2,400 years ago – had already figured out one of the major parts of the puzzle, and it’s nothing to do with money but more about living in a way which allows you to express your vital human capabilities.

That’s why today I want to talk about Eudaemonia and how we can flourish more, particularly in the next chapter of our lives. The three component parts of Eudaemonia and the nine questions you should ask yourself to get more Eudaemonic in your life today…

I remember one of my favourite interviews I’ve done for What Happens Next was with the amazing Jon Dunkley. During this interview (which you can find here ) we talked about how the Greeks defined wellbeing and happiness.

You see the Greeks talks a lot about Hedonism. The pursuit of pleasure and self-indulgence.

They also used to talk about Chaironic wellbeing. The art of experiencing Awe.

However, the form of happiness or Wellbeing Aristotle used to talk about a lot, in addition to Hedonistic and Chaironic happiness was the feeling of Eudaemonia effectively meaning both ‘living’ and ‘doing’ well.

You see Eudemonia, the philosophers used to talk about, consists of three parts which contribute to our human flourishing… all of which I love to talk about on What Happens Next.

The first key component is External goods. Aristotle acknowledged that we needed some external stuff to survive. That includes health, friendships, wealth, social standing. However, the stoics used to argue that anything external was the contextual backdrop to our flourishing.

Enough money (however that looks for you) or enough friends or social connections are important, but Aristotle used to suggest that the internal factors (which are predominantly the factors we can actually control) have more of an impact.

The second key component of Eudaimonia is intellectual excellence. If we translate this component to modern terminology it’s all about staying curious and continuing your learning journey.

There’s a bunch of practical ways you can do this. You can join a book club, have deep conversations and engage and debate ideas.

You could also do work which challenges you and provides purpose and meaning in your life.

Last but not least it’s what Aristotle used to call ‘virtues of Character’ and, I suppose, could also be translated to ‘moral excellence’. Taking action which gives you true purpose and living life to your values is often a part of my clients next chapter.

That might be exhibiting generosity by helping people through mentoring or charity. Whatever you do to help and serve others be it through your work or unpaid sounds like generosity to me.

That could be taking the time to get clear on your values and living life more aligned to your values as you move into the next chapter of your life.

So, if we agree that a life well lived is about purpose, meaning, learning and doing the right thing then maybe all those years ago we can agree that Aristotle has a point.

However, the challenge we face is how to apply these Millenia old principles into our actual lives… and the answer to that is often through the questions we ask ourselves… I reckon there’s ten which are important:

Firstly…

What do I truly need to flourish, not just to survive?

You’ve probably got your own answer to this, but a decent place to start might be by looking at the What Happens next model we’ve built which will highlight the aspects which I’d suggest should be important to you.

Secondly, who are the people that matter the most to me, and how do I nurture these relationships?

We know that friendship is vital for flourishing, so this question is all about making sure you’ve got enough of these social connections in your life.

Thirdly, “What am I doing regularly to hone my mind—reading, debating, practicing new skills?”

We know that a growth mindset and continuous learning is vital when we get older… that’s why this question is so vital…

Number four is “What are my core values, and are my daily actions aligned with them?”

Not living in line with our core values has a psychological term. Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort we feel when our actions, beliefs and values conflict.

Understanding and aligning our core values can reduce chronic stress and exhaustion, reduce guilt and shame, and boost our self-esteem and integrity.

Number five is “in what ways am I contributing to others? How am I being kind? How am I mentoring other people? How am I being generous?”

Purpose in our lives isn’t often about us… it’s about how we help others and understanding this gives you a decent start to a life well lived.

Number six is “Do I have a sense of purpose that guides me, beyond financial or status goals?”

Life with purpose, beyond the money or status, is a central component to flourishing in life.

Number seven is “What efforts am I putting into what matters, even when it’s challenging?”

One of the interesting factors of Eudaemonia (unlike Hedonistic behaviours) is that it’s not always ‘easy’. – In fact, it can be more satisfying when we’ve made a proper effort.

Question number eight is “Who am I becoming? What aspects of myself do I want to develop further?”

From my conversations with clients, the next chapter is often a voyage of self-rediscovery and asking yourself about the person you want to be as well as the person you can see yourself becoming is vital.

Lastly, it’s about gratitude… So ask yourself the following: –

“What am I grateful for today?”

My recommendation. If you want a powerful question which is guaranteed to enhance your wellbeing… ask that question of yourself every day.

So, this is the concept of Eudemonia, something we’ve known for thousands of years is a key concept we need to understand so we can flourish as humans and the 9 questions we can consider when planning for a life where you simply thrive.

For more on this subject you can take a look at the one video we’d recommend you watch which shares the other mind blowing secrets of retirement we can learn from the stoics…

And so we’ve also got a bit of Eastern philosophy thrown in, you can find out about what we can learn from Taoist philosophy to support your retirement from this video.