Have you been planning for retirement? Making your 401K contributions, living within your means, sticking to that tight budget, managing to sock some savings away, reaping the benefits of an IPO or the graciousness of a rich uncle? Recently, a few individuals I work with have been fortunate enough to retire from their originally chosen professions. Some are in their thirties, a few in their forties, maybe a handful in their fifties, doubt that any were in their sixties. Retiring before fifty sounds like a dream, but a couple things to keep in mind. It can be scary, but you can do it.
If your financial plan has your longevity ending at ninety, you need to plan for the long-term. You really need to map out what you want to do with your days so that they do not just slip away. Distractions that end up becoming never ending projects are not what retirement is all about. Retirement should equal happiness. It should be your time. Your time to do nothing but what you want to do, and to do those things that bring you happiness. Retirement is an opportunity to think about, and doing, only that which truly makes you happy.
It’s not so much about reinventing yourself as it is about deconstructing yourself. Rediscovering the true you. For much of our lives we live for others. Your childhood is spent developing into the type of individuals your parents would like you to be. College is developing your character and skills in order to be a positive contributor in society. A large part of your life is meeting your employer’s expectations, delivering on your obligations as a parent, supporting, and meeting, the financial commitments you have chosen as the head, or partner, of your household. Retirement is a chance to forget about who you were supposed to be and to realize who you want to be.
Feeling guilty about your good fortune? Don’t. You may have been lucky in your new found situation. Remain humble, look to do good to others. Be kind and compassionate.
Your plan should have a flexible strategy of interchangeable blocks. Maybe your retirement comes at the hands of a merger or acquisition. Not necessarily forced, but a crossroad that has possibilities. Maybe it is a restructure, that may, or may not, include you. Another opportunity surfaces that looks appealing. One that possibly is not that all-consuming, which allows for semi-retirement. See it as a move from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat. You’re in control, It’s your journey now. Do set boundaries, but boundaries on property that is now yours.
Not that working sixty hour weeks, managing an impossible workload, being all things to all people, and just attempting to navigate life’s challenges is comfortable, but knowing that your routine consists of this daily regimen, can present some comfort. In retirement, don’t go back there. Break those old habits, set a new schedule, chart a new course, get on a new path, don’t look back, don’t go back to old comfortable habits.
Enjoy. Be happy. Do good. Be good.