Thinking and Retirement

When you think about retirement, what is it that you think about?  When you think about retirement, what is it that comes to mind? 

When you reach the age of 85 and you look back over your retirement, what do you want to be able to tell people when they ask you how your retirement has been?  When you reach the age of 85, what is it that you want to fondly remember about your retirement? 

Questions that place you far into your future can be hard to answer but they are important to consider because of the perspective they give you.  Perhaps the following set of questions will be a little easier to answer.   

What do you plan to do on your very first day of retirement?  What do you want to see happen, or what do you want to accomplish, over the first five years of your retirement?  How will the second 10 year period of your retirement be different from the first 10 year period?   

Where will you be living in retirement?  Will you be living where you are today or will you be living somewhere else?  What will your lifestyle be like in retirement and how do you want your lifestyle to change over time?  Who is going to be in your retirement?  Will the people you are friends with today be part of your retirement?   

Who are you going to be in retirement?  Are you going to be the same person you are today or will you be somebody different?  Who is it that you want to be in retirement? 

These questions can also be a challenge to answer because they too concern your future, albeit nearer than the age 85 question.   

How about a question from today’s perspective? 

If you and I were to meet three years from today for a coffee, what has to happen in your life between now and then for you to be able to say to me, “Gary, I just had the best three years of my life!” 

For many people, this question is as difficult to answer as the earlier questions.  And yet, I believe that you should be able to answer all of the above questions with a fair amount of detail. 

We have all been blessed with a resource that enables us to answer questions concerning our life in the future.  Unfortunately, many of us choose to use this resource in a way that limits us.  The resource to which I am referring is your ability to think and to use your imagination. 

Thinking is not an easy thing to do.  It requires focus and it requires effort.  As Henry Ford once said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.” 

Thinking about your life in retirement can be even harder because it requires you to consider what it is you want in life and from life.  Very few people know what they want and this isn’t a new phenomenon as Mark Twain once quipped, “I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life.  The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want.” 

But if you want to experience all that your life in retirement has to offer, you will need to do some thinking.  It is only by thinking that you will uncover the potential that your retirement is offering you.   

With some thought, you have the opportunity to create and experience a retirement that is unique, enjoyable, adventurous, meaningful, and true to your heart.   

I believe you deserve this kind of retirement. 

What do you think?