Retirement

What is retirement to you?

1. “Retirement will mean sleeping late, wearing whatever I want to, having no schedule to meet, and pleasing no one but myself. Days will be as full as I want them to be and I won’t need a schedule or structure of any kind. Every day will be like a holiday.”

2. “When I leave my present job and reap the benefits of so called retirement I will begin changing my focus and concentrate more on things like hobbies, volunteering, or a new part time career. I will be doing things that I have wanted to do but never seemed to have the time for. Fortunately, I can be more in control of my time and won't feel the pressure to produce an income, meet quotas, or work by the clock.”

3. “After retirement my children and grandchildren will fill my time and I can see them as often as I care to. I won't worry about cultivating friendships or even maintaining some that don't mean a lot to me because trust and loyalty can only come from family.

4. “I am going to be busy in my new adventure. I may do some of the same things I did in my former career except now I can be a volunteer. I will be able choose how I spend my time. I'll probably have more or less the same type of sleep and wake schedule and certainly don’t intend to become a couch potato. Retirement for me won't mean folding my tent. Instead, it will result in my changing direction. I am looking forward to learning new things and meeting new people.”

It isn’t too difficult to see that paragraph’s #1 and #3 are loaded with potential disappointments and unrealistic expectations. The outlook’s found in #2 and #4, on the other hand, are more likely to correlate with making retirement fulfilling, successful, and happy.

Successful retirement often includes substituting the words changing direction for the word retirement. Healthy and happy retirees have purpose and meaning in life and feel needed and wanted by someone or something. These individuals keep active mentally and physically, have a reason to get up in the morning and see retirement as a new challenge and opportunity. Try to emulate these role models and you will more than likely find exciting retirement experiences ahead.