Personalize Your Retirement
(Taken from “I Want To Retire! Essential Considerations for the Retiree to Be”)
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. ~ George Bernard Shaw
Retirement is defined quite simply and succinctly in Wikipedia as the point where a person stops employment completely. To those about to begin their personal journey into retired living that abbreviated account might seem an understatement of sorts. As 75 million baby boomers begin to enter that time in their lives when retirement becomes a consideration if not a priority, retirees to be may quickly discover there is a lot more to consider beyond simply the absence of work. Talk about a life changing event – no more nine-to-five, no more Monday morning dread, no more corporate politics, away with those boring meetings, done with pressure filled project deadlines, and finally time for ourselves to do what we want to do. Rather than centering our efforts on moving up in the ranks we can begin to focus on moving out into the world and on to brand new experiences. Retirement can change the way we live every day and redefine those activities we have become accustomed to doing during that day. There is a bit more to retirement than merely the absence of employment.
Well before reaching the threshold of retirement the wise retiree to be will begin to navigate the endless jungle of details that promises to make up his retired life. Assuming we retire at 65 the duration of our typical retirement will be in the twenty to thirty year range. That is a lot of days, a lot of weeks, and a lot of months during which we are solely responsible for identifying and pursuing interests to make our days worth living. Gone are those busy working days filled with packed calendars. Our weekends will extend beyond Saturday and Sunday to include the entire seven day week. Imagine the possibilities now that we can pursue our passions and plans seven days a week! Get ready for time on our hands – lots of it.
I retired from years working in social services and now am following my own bliss. I have a small antique business that I started the month after my retirement. I love old things and the search for them. For the first time in my life I am able to wake up when I want, and the way I spend my day is up to me. I am free to be me.
As we look toward our future, it can help to start to prepare for what is going to happen rather than just wait and see. There might be actions we can take ahead of time to provide for an even more enjoyable retired life. Try to visualize your perfect retirement. Based upon the person you are, your interests and your passions, how might your perfect retirement look? What is really right for you? It is never too early to begin planning for your own fulfilling retirement. Once you begin to more clearly understand where you are today and where you want to ultimately end up, you can start putting together the pieces to build a retirement custom made for you.
What does retirement mean to me?
So you have decided it is time to call it quits at the old job and take a step into a new life of retirement, a new chapter, a new beginning. Some soon to be retirees find themselves almost giddy with excitement and expectation as they look toward the wonderful new life they will soon begin. Others are just ready for a break from the same old grind. Still others may find themselves a bit unsure and perhaps nervous about exactly what lies ahead. With the pending event drawing ever nearer, ideally you are beginning to ask the questions that can give you a deeper understanding of your personal views and expectations.
How do you feel about retirement?
Are you ready or reluctant?
How do you envision yourself in the next five years? What about ten? What about 20?
Are you optimistic or pessimistic about your new life ahead?
Are you maybe a bit scared? If so what is it that concerns you? What are your biggest fears?
What most excites you about the promise of retirement?
Are you looking forward to exploring new interests and trying different things?
Are you creative and energetic enough to occupy yourself with meaningful events each day?
Are you looking forward to spending 24/7 with your spouse?
Will you be able to find meaning in a life outside of work?
What single thing do you believe is most important to achieving happiness in retirement?
An understanding today of what you expect in retirement can allow you to make adjustments as needed while you still have time.
Take a look at your emotional reasons for working (doing something worthwhile, being respected by others, etc.). Those don’t just drive your work, they drive your life. You need to find non-work interests that give you the same sort of emotional benefits.
While I was searching for just the right cover for this book, I asked myself what single picture would best represent the concept of retirement. Is it even possible for a single moment in time to summarize all that is part and parcel of retired life? What I did not want to do was go with the old tried and true snapshots typically associated with retired life. I did not want to use a sunset since I believe that retirement is the beginning of something new rather than the end. I was not interested in using one of the many pictures of an old couple sitting on a bench looking out at a beautiful view of ocean, lake, or mountains. Yes this can be a wonderful component of the retirement we will live but it downplays all of the activity and adventure and life there is to live in addition to watching the world go by. And I sure wasn’t going to use a picture of someone swinging a club on the golf course, a far to frequent depiction of what awaits the recent retiree.
I settled on the picture you see of an empty hammock swinging in the breeze. First of all the vacant spot invites someone to climb on in and enjoy a peaceful, relaxing moment and who better qualified than a happily retired person in search of a little downtime. Secondly, the fact that the location is a tropical spot on some unknown shore reflects the myriad of options we will have to travel and explore new and exotic locales once we retire. The hammock may await us but not before the adventure of getting there has been lived. Finally, I have always had a thing for the ocean and the peace it brings to my soul. I can definitely picture myself reclining in the hammock, gently swaying in the warm tropical breezes with the steady sound of waves breaking in the distance. And when I am ready, one quick hop out of my hammock and a new unexplored world awaits me.