Retirement is the Time to Slow Down

I think retirement is the most enjoyable time in our lives.  Most people spend decades working for someone else and being told what to do so when they finally get to their last day of work, they are so conditioned to being directed by someone else, they sometimes lose their way if they’re not prepared for the changes that retirement brings.  Retirement is the time to slow down and plan the rest of your life in a way that everything you ever dreamed about doing will at least be acknowledged and become a part of how we spend the most wonderful time in our life.  Let’s face it, by the time we reach retirement age, we’re probably in the “fourth quarter” of our life so it makes sense to take the time and think seriously about how we want to spend whatever time on earth we have.  I don’t say all of this to be morbid, but the reality is that most people get to retirement without a plan for how they are going to spend their time.  While many have planned carefully with finances, they haven’t given the same amount to thought about how they will spend their time.  They go from working forty to seventy hours a week with every minute accounted for to a blank calendar with no appointments.  It’s very sad to hear so many people tell me they’re bored.

I started this website in the hope that I could convince people that it’s worth taking the time to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life.  It’s time to take inventory of all the things you had thought about doing in your youth but never got around to.  Were you a frustrated writer or artist?  Did you want to travel the world and eat exotic foods or become a gourmet cook?  Did you want to pitch for the New York Yankees?  You should make a list of all the things that were part of what made you who you are and at least recognize how you evolved as a person.  The surprising thing is that it’s never too late to resurrect a dream no matter how crazy it might seem.  Can you become a starting pitcher with a major league team?  No, but you would be surprised at how many retirees are taking part in senior leagues and having the time of their life and enjoying every minute of the freedom retirement gives you.  Retirement is the time to slow down and enjoy the moment.  All those dreams that you had captured your imagination and got you excited.  Isn’t that what life is all about?  Do you know how fulfilling it can be to do something you had always thought about doing?  Do you know how satisfying it is to say to yourself “you did it” and realize that there’s more to come?  After reading about the ancient empires of Greece and Rome and looking at pictures of the ruins that could be visited, I could not believe how much it meant to me to see the Parthenon or the Coliseum.  It was something I will never forget.

Retirement is the time to slow down and remember what life is about.

When I graduated high school, I thought about going on a trip across the country so see some historic sites and experience the wonders of this country like the Grand Canyon and the Pacific Ocean.  Even if I had saved up enough money, it would have been a rushed trip because I had gotten a job to help me get through college.  As my retirement day approached more than forty years later, our first escape from the winter cold was going to resurrect that cross country trip from my youth.  We would take a southern route to find the warmer weather, and we would take our time to explore some of the beautiful places this country has to offer.  We also knew this would be the first of hopefully many trips during our post-working years.  Retirement is the time to slow down and enjoy a relaxed pace because you know that there’s a good chance that the next day will be just as delightful as today was.

Retirement allows you to control your time.  If something catches your attention, you can change your plans and spend the extra time doing something you love.  Hobbies can become your new “job” and you can take up new challenges whenever you want.  We know many people who have become quite creative in their retirement years.  One person became a musician and another a songwriter.  One has gone back to his love of photography and has had many pieces on exhibit.  We came across a husband and wife on our trip through Sedona who actually started their own restaurant.  Your life is yours and there is no one except you telling you how to live it.  And the pace is totally up to you.  Retirement is the time to slow down and enjoy life to the fullest so take out that old wish list of things you wanted to do and places you wanted to see and start to make a plan.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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