Change Your Thinking About Retirement

If you’re like most people, you view retirement as crossing the finish line and reaping the rewards of your labor.  While part of that is true, I think it’s time to change your thinking about retirement.  Yes, there are many rewards to enjoy because of your decades of labor but you are nowhere near “finished”.  In my mind, the only finish line to cross is when your heart stops beating.  I am not anywhere close to being finished when it comes to travel, learning and enjoying life to the fullest.  There are still too many places to see and things to explore and, with the age of technology that we live in today, it’s easier for anyone to keep their mind active and explore the world.  Sometimes they don’t even have to leave their chair.  I truly believe that, if you change your thinking, you change your world.  Your perspective and how you respond to things determines your outlook on life and how happy you will be.

This website was started to push back against those who found retirement to be boring.  I refuse to use the “B” word.  It just can’t happen if you change your thinking about retirement.  Did you do all the things you ever dreamed of and try all the things you fantasized about?  Did you visit all the places that you wanted to see and learn about all the topics that interested you?  If you’ve done all of these things, then you must be among the most interesting people in the world and you should share your story with others so we can all benefit from your knowledge.  I happen to think that people get bored because they’re lazy and so focused on themselves that they can’t see any perspective but their own.  Learn to serve others and you can start to feel grateful for all that you have.  That’s the secret to an exciting life.  Taking the time to ponder your existence in this vast universe and you can’t help but ask questions and wonder why we’re on this earth to begin with.  What is your purpose in life?  It’s an amazing question and most people never take the time to fully answer it.  Back in my time in Corporate America, Mission Statements were a big deal at one point.  There were brainstorming sessions to create Mission Statements for each department and for the company overall.  It actually helped people to understand how each of the many departments needed to come together to achieve the company goals.  What’s your Mission Statement.  What’s your purpose in life?

Change your thinking about retirement and you might find your true purpose in life.

I’ve come to think of retirement as a gift and a time in my life to reassess my purpose.  For a long time my Mission Statement would have included providing for my wife and children and getting ahead in my career was a way to do that.  While my wife and children are still the main part of my purpose, I have begun to explore what I refer to as my “inner self”.  Have I done all that I wanted in leading a full and productive life and fulfilling my inner needs.  Does that sound self-absorbed?  It’s not.  When you begin this kind of exercise, you come to realize that part of the reason we’re all here is to serve others.  You start to change your thinking about retirement.  You start to become more grateful for everything that you have in life.  You realize you’re part of a huge world and that you should explore it as much as possible.  You appreciate all of those who came before you to create the world you live in today.  Not just your ancestors but the great thinkers of long ago.  They become examples for us to follow.  It is humbling to go to the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome and look at what they were able to do thousands of years ago.  It makes me ask the question: what have I done with my life?

This is not meant to be depressing.  I find it inspiring.  When you change your thinking about retirement, you realize there are still important things to do.  Maybe no one wants you back at your old job because of your age, but you have a new job and that is to make sure you’ve done everything you ever wanted to do in this world.  One remarkable piece of advice that I read was to contemplate your own funeral.  What would people say?  How many people would go?  How many people did you touch in your life?  Everyone has gifts and talents.  Did you use them to the best of your ability?

Again, this is not meant to be depressing.  It would be exactly that if we didn’t have the power to change things in the time we have left on this earth, but we do!  If you change your thinking about retirement, you realize that every day is a new day and a new chance to enjoy this marvelous gift of life that too many of us take for granted.  I am determined to make retirement an adventure.  My time was controlled by my employer for forty years.  Retirement is my time in life to make the most of every day according to my own priorities and my own Mission Statement.  It’s time to get out there and live your life to the fullest. Create your own Mission Statement.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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