Positivity and Optimism in Early Retirement: Our Key to Happiness

[@SuzannesSimpleLiving]

Hi Guys, after losing my late partner & both parents in the last 11 years, I’ve learnt to be so grateful for what we have & always try to keep positive. I don’t sweat the small stuff anymore I just say’ it is what it is’ & remembering that there is always somebody worse off than yourself. Great vid, thank you 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Suzanne- we are really sorry for your losses, we hope that your are coping as well as you can? We are clearly on the same page. Not swearing the small stuff is a phrase we use a lot...it should have been in the video😬 Gratitude is definitely one of the key things that has really changed both of our lives. It really does help give us a sense of perspective over the stuff we have going on. Thanks for the comment & take care. 🙏👍

[@ClareC-o7y]

You're absolutely right. Positivity, being grateful for what we have and making the most of everything makes such a big difference to our quality of life.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you. There have been times when it has been hard to remain positive but it is what has helped us through in the end 😊

[@lenafietst8237]

From trauma comes growth. Life's harvest. Thank you.

[@dominic8218]

Exactly the reason I subscribed to your channel. You are positive, honest and genuinely care about helping people. Great stuff 👏🏼👏🏼

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - we appreciate that! We are really enjoying sharing our early retirement journey and wanderlust 😊

[@allisonbennett641]

Wonderful message guys. I always believe something good will rise from a bad or difficult experience , or time in life. Has kept me sane on a number of occasions . Love your chanel, so open, honest and real. Thank you !

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks again for your kind words - we are firm believers that when you are going through a tough spell (and you will, many times) the only way is up and it won't last. We also know the reverse is true and you just don't know when the next hard time will hit! It's definitely why we make the most of every minute while we can x

[@nevertoolate8589]

Thanks for this reminder on positivity. Also, very impressed by Jackie’s fitness and strength. Would be interested in her take or experience of fitness in midlife for women if she fancies talking about that.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - I didn't really start looking after my own fitness until my 40's as I was always running around after the kids taking them to sporting activities but I found a love for CrossFit at our local gym in Cheshire which had such a warm welcoming atmosphere and have continued to be active from then on. We do miss the gym now we have moved to the Dales as it had a great community atmosphere but we now enjoy hiking and getting outdoors

[@susanadams4964]

Great video. I was widowed at 42 with 3 children under 10. I rebuilt our lives, married again and have two stepsons too! Positivity is the way to go but you never forget, do you? All the best.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Susan...wow this blew us away. Many thanks for sharing. Nope, we don't think that you ever forget...which is a good thing. A friend sent me something a couple of weeks ago about Grief just being another form of love, that just like true love it never really goes away. My very wise Aunty helped me though my losses by describing grief as a big hole that is always there. In the early days we keep falling in it, but as time goes on we get better skirting around the edges and avoiding the fall....yet the sense of loss still remains. Thanks again for sharing. Take care. 🙏

[@Boingyuk]

I really needed this today. Thank you. 🙏

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

You are quite welcome. Hope you are ok? 🙏

[@skinnydaz]

It was lovely to meet you both at the NEC, definitely the highlight of the day for us! We're positively looking forward to our retirement even more now. Good luck with your upcoming trip, I'm sure you'll love it.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you and it was lovely speaking to you both. Hopefully all of your plans will start to fall into place nicely - we have never had any regrets 😊 We are so excited for Thailand now! Time to start packing and actually getting a bit more organised 😬 I know we will love it once we have got over the huge culture shock of Bangkok!

[@skinnydaz]

​😂

[@raulmur4772]

Gratitude and positivity are the way forward.... helps in all aspects of life.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Absolutely!

[@timtarby-donald]

Great vlog folks - I’m a big advocate of kindness and positivity as it is definitely something which attracts other like-minded people. Absolutely a way to “find your tribe”.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Love that! We have noticed how much more we are able to surround our selves by positivity now we are retired and at times maybe felt we were being dragged down or were even part of the spiral of negativity when we were working .

[@victorgauci8668]

I live by the thought of me and everyone in the street throwing their problems down in the open. Your sure to pick up your own sharpish. As for social media and media your so right.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

You are so right - you just don't know what other people are going through in their lives - we are so humbled by some of the things people have shared with us. The news and social media - what a mental drain they can be!!!!

[@adventureswithangelaandwayne]

Completely agree with your positive mindset. The reason why I love watch you guys because you don't use the negative titles. We hardly listen to the news, don't buy newspaper or have it on our phones. We surround ourselves with positive happy people, we feel negative moaners can bring you down. We find if you see the funny side of things and have a laugh for example when you go shopping, etc it becomes infectious, and brightens someone else's day

[@adventureswithangelaandwayne]

Oh my goodness I was just writing in the comments about being happy in shops and Jackie said it on the vlog lol great minds and all that 👍

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks for this you two. It's so nice to know that there are others out there that share the same philosophy. Your positivity really comes across in your videos...that BTW have been INVALUABLE in our Thailand Adventure planning. Many thanks again👍

[@highwayman1769]

“Cheer Up, it might get worse” was a sage bit of advice I was given as a 24 year old by Managing Director at the time. Took me some time to work out the significance of his words, but they have served me well over the years.

[@dominic8218]

Like that 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

@highwayman1769- love this! How wise were they. A healthy dose of realism at a young age. I am defiantly going to reuse this one when needed. Many thanks for sharing. Have a good one👍

[@deborahrosa123]

So relieved that you don't use clickbait titles and thumbnails! I really enjoy the variety and positive vibes from your channel 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We appreciate that! We like to talk about all aspects of our early retirement and travel wanderlust in our vlogs which hopefully help and engage people who are approaching that stage in their lives (or are already there) we wouldn't want to put people off by horror titles and disastrous thumbnails 😂

[@dhalcro]

Great comment on the click bait titles and thumbnails , too many channels that use that technique. Great to see a positive channel

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks David- we try to keep that sort of stuff off our channel. Thanks for being so supportive👍

[@alexwalksinnature]

I really like that you do not have click bait titles 😊. Positivity is great but there is something called toxic positivity which can be really dangerous. Sometimes things are hard and it’s good to accept that and not to try to see it positive. But I agree that one should be grateful for the small things like sunshine in an autumn forest, a flower, a rainbow…

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Alex- so very true. We were going to include this with Myopic Positivity...thinking that we can somehow "will" life to entirely positive. I think this is a similar thing? For us the real sense and understanding of impermanence has hopefully avoided any potential for any toxicity. Many thanks for sharing this. 👍🙏

[@Dentalteammedicalemergencies]

Brilliant.. ❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊

[@louisesymonds9963]

Two wonderful people! That brought a tear to my eye. Thank you for your message. I think I saw another book to be read! X

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

thank you ☺️

[@OaklandsOaklands]

I saw you both at the NEC today, I bet you couldn't get a van there for your £ 200.00 per week budget LOL, eye watering some of them, great channel once again always something to lean and brings a smile to my day

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We could hardly get a sandwich and a coffee there on our £200 a week budget 😂 We saw some fantastic vans but as you say some are just so expensive - more than we paid for our house! We have seen a couple of more affordable and lovely vans that fit with what we want 🚐 Hope you had a great day, you should have said hello 😊

[@janewillis140]

There is always something positive to take from your videos, nice things and places to see and great info to learn from -thank you- this one is a reminder too for everyone. X

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks Jane- we are glad that you appreciate what we do and can see the reasons why we do it. Have a good one👍🙏

[@dieselbushcraft1299]

I cannot believe how you both stay so positive, wish I had that talent. As for people pulling out on me or needing to overtake I just think theyre named after that area of Mainland Orkney that has an old airfield that begins with T and ends in double T 😂👍😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

😂 driver rage is something I had to let go of living for so long by the M6 - our road issues in the dales tend to be more sheep related, and you can't help but smile at them 😂 Of course there are times when it has been hard to keep positive but I suppose in those times we just know it has to get better and we weather the storm out.

[@joehunter643]

I run 3 times a week .. helps with my positivity

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

I think that's why we love hiking and being out in the mountains all the time - it helps clear the mind x

[@garyhollywell2112]

Great Vlog, great approach and ideas for us all. Control of the mind, Chatter, 'Chimp' etc are important lessons to learn or be it I often get frustrated that I seem to revisit these learning lessons at times!! Its interesting I joined a FB group called Epic Retirement, it is really interesting to read and reflect on many of the posts. Coming out of the 'Drug' (in many ways) that is a Career and a Workplace is for many of us not easy to manage and sometimes I feel 'relapse' is also a reality, and managing that almost becomes a practice! Thank you for the content.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Gary- going to have a look at the FB group- sounds great and really inspiring. I think that we all have moments when we lapse back into work habits and have to revisit what we have learned. I guess it's due to the fact that we worked for so long, yet are relative novices at this retirement game😂 I always look at it as a nice problem to have! Chris Williamson was talking about just this thing on a recent podcast, where he found himself lambasting himself for forgetting some of the great habits he had adopted in the past. He pointed out how crazy this actually is, because we are actually criticising ourselves for improving ourselves😬 Definitely something I am guilty of...but it is a work in progress. Have a good one, and thanks for taking time to comment👍

[@alegna4132]

When I am stuck in a traffic jam I just think to myself- we won't be sat here long enough that we are growing beards! Or think of Bee Gees singing 'You should be Dancing' when the train gets delayed and people are all hanging around the platform. I would love it if a flash mob suddenly started dancing to that song. Great advice guys - do you still Crossfit ?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Love it - how cool would it be if a flash mob started up! Sadly we don't do CrossFit anymore as we have relocated to the Dales and we are away travelling so often that we couldn't commit to the membership - but it is something that we miss as the CrossFit ethos is built on a strong community that supports each. It is something we will probably return to in the future as there is a gym locally and it will be a great way of becoming part of a new community.

[@cliffe02]

Great video guy’s as always, you two have helped me reset my mindset after some serious setbacks derailing retirement plans. I would recommend Ryan Holiday’s book :- The Obstacle is the Way. About how Stoicism can help with positivity and mindfulness. Great read. Merci.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Cliff- very much appreciated. We are glad that as a community we can help each other out. I am familiar with Ryan Holidays work- but not this book so it will go on the list. I read "When Ego is the Enemy" when I was still in a leadership position, and really enjoyed completing his Daily Stoic Journal...which got me into my journaling habit a few years ago. I still subscribe to his email newsletter which is also really good. Many thanks for the comment and recomendation👍

[@BrianOGorman-g2e]

Well done you two👍

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Brian👍

[@clareboylan6741]

Great advice guys. 😊 I try to keep a positive mind as much as I can. Also not to worry. Dr ranghan chattergee who does an amazing podcast, and also his books are all about positivity. It definitely needs to be reinforced now and again. 😊 have a great weekend. 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks Clare🙏 I love Dr Chattergee's podcast- he does some great stuff on a weekly basis. He definitely got me through some tough times a few years ago. He talks so much sense and I cannot work out why he doesn't have a higher profile in the UK. Have a good weekend too👍R

[@NomadsNest1UK]

Good talk, I have a book recommendation for you as well, The Untethered soul, Michael A Singer. It’s one of them books that you read several times because you want more.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Maura/Greg...will definitely add this to my ever increasing reading list. Who would have thought KZbin would provide so many great book recommendations? Nice to see that you were up in Hawes on your channel- it is one of our favourite villages in the Dales. Thanks for the comment and the tip👍

[@garethwalters2909]

Hi guys, great video as always! Positivity is definitely something I'm trying to work on and in particular 'Imposter Syndrome', which is the voice in my head that you talk about Richard. I'm reading a book at the minute which is great called The Imposter Cure by Dr Jessamy Hibberd, maybe you've read it already but if not well worth a read and maybe one for your monthly book review 😃.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Gareth- nope I haven't read this book so it's going straight on my every growing book list. It sounds really interesting. I definitely struggled with imposter syndrome in work, but have found it much easier in retirement to openly share my incompetence😂 In a strange way, our KZbin project has really helped us both with having the confidence to just go for it and follow what we feel is right as well as having no expectations of the outcome. Have a good one, and thanks for the recommendation👍