Ingredients of a Happy Retirement
The retirement we ultimately
decide to live is personal. Within the parameters of our individual financial
situation and current health status, how we choose to live is up to us. We
manage our days. We fill the calendar. We are in control.
Retirement affords the unique
opportunity to become the person you want rather than the person you are
supposed to be. The trick is to figure out who that is as soon as possible. As
Zane Grey said, “we’re burning daylight.”
Everyone has advice to give. Friends
generously share specifics of their retired life, perhaps bragging a bit, maybe
complaining a tad. Books enumerate the good and bad pointing out pitfalls and
pinnacles you are likely to encounter. Retirement bloggers share their journey
as they learn to navigate their individual retirement jungle. Each source sheds
some light on what it means to live retired 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Yet none of these sample cases is necessarily how YOU will live your
retirement. Your path to retirement is yours to blaze.
When it comes to the manufacturing
the perfect retirement I don’t believe there is a generic one-size-fits-all
recipe. We are different people. Our interests are all over the map. What
excites you may bore the pants off me and visa versa. Each of us is responsible
to find our respective way. How we get there is not always easy to predict. Plan
on taking some missteps along the way but keep going.
And who wants a “perfect
retirement” anyway? Perfect anything requires an attention to detail that has
no place in the free flying life we can experience as retirees. It sounds like
unnecessary stress if you ask me. I prefer to view retirement as a
work-in-progress, a continually changing experience where we weed out what we
don’t enjoy and add in what we love. What works one day may not another –
that’s perfectly fine. It should be about making the most of each day. And the
awesome reality of retirement is you get to decide exactly what that “most”
consists of.
Retirement is an evolution. The
person we are five years down the line is not the same person we were at the beginning.
We learn, adapt, try a little of this, experiment with a little of that, and
slowly learn how to make the most of our second act. That intensity and drive that
was part of the working me has morphed into a more mellow go-with-the-flow
retired me. I think my wife appreciates the change. I know my heart doctor does!
I write this blog from a little
two-seater rocking chair, looking out my front door at my recently pruned roses
whose healthy shiny leaves are beginning to return for a new season. A wind
chime softly tones while a single bird twitters in the tree perhaps chiding the
barking dog down the way. After weeks of rain – a rare occurrence in the Valley
– the sun is out, the temperature is warm, and the sky is blue. Does it get any
better?
Earlier today my wife and I
went to Trader Joes – we love that place. We wander the isles finding
intriguing new offerings along with our basics like fruit, veggies, bread,
nuts, etc. My latest discovery is the Herb Popcorn – talk about addicting. From
there I drove a few miles down the road to take a 90 minute walk along the
shoreline. The California coast is definitely my sweet spot. Combine one part
majestic coastlines strewn with craggy rocks, add a dose of booming waves
breaking mercilessly on said rocks, throw in a pinch of riotously blooming
cacti, and last but not least include the possibility of spotting a breeching
whale lingering on horizon – that is my recipe for inspiration. When at the
ocean it feels life just makes sense. One of my favorite quotes: ”the voice of
the sea speaks to the soul.”
I think living a happy retirement
comes down to figuring out what you most enjoy and then doing it. Sure there
are days when you don’t feel 100 percent – that is part of the program. But
when you do feel good make the most of it. Don’t worry about what you used to
be able to do – do what you can. Be forever curious – the world is amazing in
so many unique ways. Take a chance and venture outside your comfort zone. Remember
you are not obligated to do anything. If a new direction turns out not to be
what you expected, abandon ship! Move on to the next adventure, the next hobby,
the next challenge, and the next reason for living.
Living a happy retirement
life is something we all hope to experience. Good luck on your journey.