One Size Fits All

Fairytales and Fantasies

The GOLDEN YEARS: like “the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, is nothing more than a cliché used by salesmen and those who have no idea what retirement truly is, or what it’s like.

Advisers tell you about how social security works, how much to save, or how to have a great time on a small budget, etc. They spin yarns about the freedom to travel, going on cruises, playing golf, laying back, taking it easy, when in fact most of us never earn enough to even think about even 90% of those.

Losing a job when you are in your working years causes panic and concern, but you eventually find another job. However, leaving the workforce for retirement is a different anxiety, one that ranks alongside all of the other milestones of life: childbirth, marriage, relocation, even death.

Not An End: A Beginning

Something akin to Shakespeare’s, “…undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns,” once you have retired, there is no going back. Yes, after retirement you can find other employment, but you do not ‘unretire.’

So then, what is it all about? What do I do when I retire?

Well, brief online searches will find a nearly endless list of people writing about “how to” reinvent yourself after retiring. However; the question this brings to mind is, “can just anyone reinvent themselves?” Are you physically, emotionally, and mentally capable to do things like:

• A new career
• Go back to school
• Learn a new trade
• Tackle new projects
• Engage in volunteer service
• Fine new hobbies
• Write a book
• Start a blog page like this one

There is a great deal of information available about “reinventing yourself.” There are books,  blogs pages (much like this), and of course, everybody’s favorite move studio, Youtube. All of which offer much sage advice on how to make it all work.

But, much like your health and medication, everyone has their own prescription, their own condition.

It’s A Trick Of The Mind

It’s great to get ideas on what you ‘may’ do, but the fact is, ‘not everyone shares this mindset.’ In other words, there is no such thing as “the best way to retire” or an “how-to book of retirement tips” that fits everyone.

Yes! I agree! There are plenty of people out there, like me, that want to tell you how it’s done, most of whom are not even close to retirement age. In the process they mist the point! The point that each of us is unique. Our circumstances are unique! Each have our own way of life, our own personalities; introverts, extroverts, gregarious and non-gregarious, private, reclusive, shy, bold, etc. etc.

Consider the following:

What IF — I Had Never Heard Of retirement?

What would it be like to approach retirement holistically, i.e., “I’m getting older with each passing minute, so what will I need when I can no longer work for a living?”

It’s a lot different when you’re 30, or 40, or even 50; during those years all you worry about is the mortgage or rent, bills, children’s education, and so on, but without the concept of “RETIREMENT” being laid before you, at what point would you say: “I’ve had enough – I have enough – I’m changing my life?” Or do you feel that you would ever even approach life that way?

Nearly every person who took voluntary retirement in the past three or four decades did so for numerous reasons, usually involving one or more of the following:

• Financial Readiness: longevity.stanford.edu
• Job Satisfaction: ssa.gov
• Desire for Leisure and Personal Pursuits: academia.edu
• Family Considerations: ssa.gov
• Psychological Factors: researchgate.net
• Work Environment: academia.edu
• Policy and Economic Factors: nap.nationalacademies.org

Of course, these are all by design, i.e., “The reasons for retiring.” Putting the ‘reasons’ aside, the fact is, that time will come, and ‘knowing what you are going to do with it’ is essential to your future. The ‘reason’ is less important than the mindset you have as it approaches. Can you “reinvent” yourself?

The Road Less Traveled

So, what if no one had ever told you retirement was a thing? No such word, no brochures, no financial planners, no cultural expectation. At some point in your life, you just stop working. Do you feel that such a concept would ever cross your mind. Would how you did you job, handled your career, been done differently. Would how you lived your life been any different?

“Golden Years?” Seriously? The real question isn’t WHY we retire—it’s whether you even SHOULD retire, and if so, on whose terms?

Current laws require certain actions at certain ages. If you miss those deadlines, you will be penalized. Other factors are job requirements, and age prejudice. See: (Mandatory Retirement) (Medicare Penalties) (Ageism)

For me, retirement isn’t about reinvention or following someone else’s script. It’s about choosing how to spend the time I have left, in a way that makes sense for me. Maybe that means work, maybe it doesn’t. But I will not allow someone else define what is or is not best for me. If I want to write a book, I’ll do it. If I want to go back to college, so what? If I want to write for a blog page, I will.  

How about you?