Retirement Is Your Second Chance

We hear it all the time from our friends.  The sentence that begins with “I wish”.  It usually focuses on something they wished they had done or didn’t do.  I always tell them that retirement is your second chance to change almost anything that happened in your past.  Even those things that seem unchangeable can be addressed in some way.  For serious problems, you should see a professional counselor but for many other things the changes begin with how you view the problems in your life.  I am not being simplistic about this because I know there are situations that are quite sad and are filled with regret.  But there are ways to alleviate those negative feelings.

The first thing most people must learn to do is to forgive yourself for your mistakes.  None of us are perfect and we have all done things we wished we hadn’t.  This is especially true when it involves someone who is not with us anymore.  Some people wished they had spent more time with a loved one who is now departed.  It is true that you cannot change that, but you can do things that will help ease the pain.  For example, if you didn’t spend enough time with someone you loved, spend more time with those who are still with you.  You have a lot to share with people and retirement is your second chance to do exactly that.  It is difficult, I know, but you can bring peace into your life by learning from your past.  Fortunately, a lot of our friends mention something that is far easier to change like they wished they had traveled more.  I’m sure you can guess that my answer is always that it’s never too late.  I really believe that.

Retirement is your second chance at a lot of things.

One of our friends wanted to go to Europe and never had the courage or the initiative to do it on her own.  We sat down with her and helped her list her priorities and found out that seeing the Mediterranean and the islands of Greece were high on her list.  We also had her make some inquiries with her family and friends to see if anyone else would be interested in doing that.  The great news is that she is going on a cruise in September with her brother and his wife to Athens and a few of the Greek islands.  She is very excited.  It is something that she never thought she would do.  Many people are reluctant to go as a single on a cruise, but it is more common than you think.  While you do pay more on a per person basis, if you do a little bit of searching, you can find some companies where the premium to travel as a single is very reasonable.  This was something that she always wanted to do, and the answer was right in front of her.  All she needed was a little encouragement.  They followed our recommendation and booked a guided tour from a very good company and are looking forward to seeing Athens with a private guide that sounds like something out of lives of the rich and famous but is actually far more reasonable than they thought.

Retirement is your second chance to do a lot of things that you thought about in your youth or were too busy to do while you were working.  Did you ever dream of learning to play an instrument, write the great American novel, sing in a band or learn a foreign language?  What are you waiting for?  You’re never too old to start and when you finally do it you realize that the journey and the process is half the fun.  I get a recording from one of my friends of every new song that he does as part of his second career as the next James Taylor.  I know someone who is trying to break into the New York Times best seller list with a novel that will make everyone forget about Ernest Hemingway.  Why not?  You only get one life so live it to the fullest.  Don’t leave this world with your music still in you.  Take the first step and you’ll be surprised at how easy the rest of the journey becomes.  Retirement is your second chance at everything from hobbies to careers, romances to world travel and everything in between.  If companionship is something you crave, take the first step in contacting old friends and classmates.  A very good friend of ours became a widower two years ago and we thought he was nearing the end himself because he missed his wife so much.  It was very sad to watch.  He got a call from a friend who had heard about his wife’s death and reached out to him because he had gone through the same thing.  They’re on the phone every day and our friend has made contact with a couple more classmates from high school.  He’s a different person.  You can never change the past and what has happened, but you can change how you react to it, and it makes all the difference in the world.  Retirement is your second chance at life and sometimes even your third or fourth.  This is a wonderful world and is meant to be fully explored but only you can make that happen.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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