Find Yourself in Retirement

It’s never too late to find yourself in retirement.  People look at me like I’m crazy when I say this, but it is absolutely true.  It’s also true that most people are afraid to do it!  If you ask anyone how well they really know themselves, they dismiss the question with a quick reply essentially saying that they know themselves pretty well.  But over the years as part of Corporate America, I had many people come to me for advice, especially in my later years.  A lot of times it was about their job or career, a situation at work or at home but sometimes it was done with a feeling that things were going in a way that they didn’t like and they weren’t too sure about what to do.  I always prefaced what I said by letting them know that I had no credentials to be a counselor, but I would be willing to listen to their problem.  What I heard led me to some of the topics contained in these pages and a realization that most people don’t know their inner self as well as they think.  They needed to find their true self.

It's Never Too Late to Find Yourself in Retirement

It's never too late to do that and it’s always worthwhile.  You can find yourself in retirement if you haven’t done so already.  I was one of those people who never figured out what they wanted to do in life.  I worked hard and was successful but the satisfaction level that I got out of work was not very high.  I’m still not sure what I want to be, but retirement has given me time and freedom to explore possibilities that are very intriguing to me.  It hasn’t been enough for me to go out and start a second career although many retirees have done so.  It has, however, shaped my life in a way that makes every day a new challenge and an exciting possibility.  I could probably get my PhD. In History and teach at the college level if I really wanted to because reading history and doing follow up research may be how I spend a quarter of my time.  I might even write a historical novel because I’ve thought about some interesting plots along the way.  I could even become a journalist as I travel the world and learn about different people and customs.  But I have found retirement to be a time I could do a little bit of each of those things.  My time is my own and each of those activities are part of what makes me who I am. 

I have found writing and travel to be great ways to stay in touch with the interests that I have.  Visiting historic sites and writing about them on this website or in one of the many essays that I write for my own enjoyment help make those experiences even more meaningful.  This is especially true if you try to put yourself in the event and imagine what it was like.  When we visited Ford’s Theater it was easy to imagine John Wilkes Booth shooting Mr. Lincoln in the special box in the theater but what happened before and what happened after?  If you go out to the front of the theater, you see the sign for the saloon where he stopped for a drink before committing his deed.  Someday, I hope they restore it to what it looked like back then.  The amazing part, however, is when you think about his escape after shoot the President.  Did you know the alley way still exists?  You can go back and see the doorway that he exited from.  There are some very informative websites focused on the assassination, and you can even take a tour to follow Booth’s escape.  As you can see, I become a little obsessed from time to time about certain things.  That’s part of the joy of retirement.  It’s why I enjoy writing about all of these topics.  I hope to inspire others to find yourself in retirement.  Explore your interests, start a website and spend your days writing about the topics that interest you.  The amazing thing is that you’ll find other people who share your same interests.

If you sit down to find yourself in retirement like I did, you may find yourself torn in many different directions and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  What would be wrong would be to ignore all of those inner urges and not explore them.  Amazing things happen when you step forward in the direction of your creative urges.  You can become lost in activity and wonder why you haven’t been doing it before this.  Find a quiet spot and try to recall all the dreams that you had.  What did you want to do and where did you want to go?  Take the time to find yourself in retirement and then do something about it!  Was Broadway or Hollywood calling you?  Go to almost any local theater to see their latest production and you’ll see people who are following their dream and having the time of their lives doing it.  And the people who are in the audience are helping to make that happen.  Support your local theaters, they put on wonderful productions.  And retirees who dreamed of going to Broadway plays every week but found out their financial situation or current location are getting in the way, are making their dreams come true by enjoying a local production.

Something magical happens when we let our forgotten dreams become revitalized.  If you find yourself in retirement with a vague sense of discontent with the state of your life, sit down and change it.  If there’s just a little glimmer of a past dream of doing something or going somewhere, follow that dream as closely as possible.  You may not make the starting line-up of the Boston Red Sox, but there’s a senior league that is looking for participants.  You may not end up at Carnegie Hall, but music lessons are a wonderful way to keep your mind active by learning new things, and your happiness levels off the charts as you sit down to play your first solo.  It’s something worth experiencing but it can only happen if you find yourself in retirement.  Find out what gets you excited.  Life is too short to be a spectator.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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