Retirement Was Made For Enjoyment
There is no doubt that retirement was made for enjoyment. Everything about life just seems to be better in retirement. I no longer dread Monday mornings. My Sunday evenings have had all the stress removed and can watch the sun set and stay up as long as I want. I don’t have to worry about losing sleep because I’m watching my favorite teams. There are no phone calls to alert me to some crisis in the data center, and I don’t have to watch the weather forecast and worry about how much snow is on the way and how much time it will add to my morning commute. Do you get the impression that I really enjoy retirement? You would be 100% correct.
Retirement was made for enjoyment. You have the extra time to do whatever you would like and, if you're anything like me, you have more things to keep you busy than when you were working. I always regarded work as an interruption to life. It kept me from the things I really wanted to do like travel, read, golf or cook an elaborate meal for just my wife and me. I truly enjoy the relaxed nature of this time of my life. It’s one of the secrets to a satisfied life: to be grateful for what you have and take the time to acknowledge it and appreciate it. I am grateful for the job and employment opportunities that I have had but it doesn’t come close to what I’ve experienced over the past eight years.
Once you've put the working life behind you, you realize retirement was made for enjoyment.
I learned through my exploration of the self-improvement genre that the world is contained in your thoughts. You can view the world as a constant struggle and dread the sound of the alarm clock or, as the great Zig Ziglar said, get a smile on your face when the “opportunity clock” goes off and you have the privilege of working your way through another day. It sounds trivial and like a mind game, but it makes a huge difference. I learned a little bit late in life that life isn’t all work and was meant to be a balance of labor and relaxation. I was determined to change that in my Golden Years. My work was finally finished (at least my time in Corporate America was coming to an end) and now I could focus on the things that bring a smile to your face. Retirement was made for enjoyment, and I was determined to squeeze every ounce of it out of each day. Everyone is different and I know this might be hard for people to understand, but I was one of those people who had trouble relaxing or enjoying themselves if there was something hanging over their head. My homework had to be done on Friday night or I couldn’t enjoy Saturday. I realize that some people are completely different and they would wait until the last minute to do something. The amazing thing about retirement is that it’s the great equalizer. There’s a lot less work to do and, in my mind, a lot more time for enjoyment.
Whatever it is that you like to do, whatever hobby or interest you have, retirement is the time to do it with all the seriousness that you brought to the workplace. Although retirement was made for enjoyment, it was never meant to be without purpose. I think any good hobby or pastime deserves your full attention because the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. Don’t just go out and play a round of golf and make the same errant drives and misjudged putts every day. Take some lessons and try to improve. Set some goals and try to reach them. You’ll notice something happens when you set a goal to reach. You become more interested and engaged and that is what keeps you energized and young at heart.
We’ve done the same thing with travel, and the fact is that you can do it with any hobby or activity that you like to do in retirement. We do research before every trip and have a list of places we want to see and things we want to experience. We almost always hire a guide because we have found that they’re a tremendous resource and you can ask them almost anything you want and get the “inside” information that gives you a lot more insight than you’d get when you try to explore these locations on your own. We love to learn where the locals eat and sample the dishes that a country or city is known for. Retirement was made for enjoyment and being able to travel at a relaxed pace is one of the greatest joys that you’ll experience in life. Taking that extra day before and after a journey to recover from jet lag makes you truly appreciate this time of life.
I don’t think there’s a hobby or activity that you can name that doesn’t benefit from the relaxed pace that retirement provides. The exciting part is that you can add to your list of activities and enjoy every minute of it because retirement was made for enjoyment. Go on and give it a try. Take another look at your favorite hobby and set some new goals. Take your game up notch. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
Thanks for visiting. If you like what you see here, please tell your friends. If you haven’t done so already, be sure you take The Self Discovery Challenge for Retirement! It’s designed to help you make the most of this wonderful time of your life. You’re never too old to discover something new about yourself!
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