Mark, a financial advisor in the Northeast, decided in his forties to buy a home in North Carolina along the ocean where he would retire. He could feel the stress leave him as he watched the waves break on the shore when he enjoyed this home on his vacations.
"As retirement grew closer, Mark said, "I realized that if the waves breaking on the shore were the only activity, it was not going to be enough."
Mark's concept of retirement was influenced by the retirement myth that success in retirement is to do nothing, to take it easy. What myth might be influencing you?
Here are some common thoughts that we have heard as we have talked with people who are approaching retirement or are already retired. These misconceptions shape how we think impacting how we see ourselves living out this time of life called retirement. They create the Grey Years rather than the Golden Years we desire.
"True success is retiring to do nothing. Being successful means accumulating enough so you don't have to do anything."
"At 65 I'm no longer capable of working. I'm too old."
"When I retire, I should start winding down. I need to take it easy."
"I want to retire while I am still healthy, so I can stay healthy."
Truths about retirement
Consider these statements.
. In the 1930s, Roosevelt created Social Security to provide a pension for workers 65 years and older. This was to create openings for younger workers by removing seniors from the workforce during the Depression, when there were large numbers unemployed. It was not created from the basis that 65 year-olds and older were unable to work.
. Generally, we are healthier than ever before. A recent cover of AARP, a magazine for people over 50, announced: "Sixty is the New Thirty." Immunizations, medications, health knowledge and education have made a huge difference.
. Our longevity has increased. A 65 year-old man can expect to live until age 83 while a 65 year-old woman could possibly reach age 85. If you are in your forties, and retire in your sixties, you could be retired a minimum of one quarter of your life.
Those living to 100 years of age have increased. The 1960 census listed about 3,000 centenarians. Today, that number is estimated at 7,000, with predictions of 4.2 million people reaching that age by the year 2050. If you are 50 now, you could be one of the 4.2 million!
. People who study aging describe the "Use it or lose it" phenomenon. We keep our health by using it. We need to be active physically, mentally and emotionally throughout our entire lifespan.
And the good news is: It is never too late to start.
We have the capacity to grow emotionally, physically and mentally at any age. Studies have shown 90 year-olds are capable of increasing muscle mass and tone so that they are able to move from beds and wheelchairs to walking without aids within a number of weeks!
George Bernard Shaw, an Irish dramatist, won the Nobel Prize for Literature at 69. He wrote his last play at 93. Grandma Moses, a renowned American folk artist, started painting at 78 years because her fingers were too stiff to continue with embroidery. Pablo Picasso's 90th birthday was celebrated was celebrated with an exhibition at the Louvre in 1971-the first time a living artist had ever shown their works there.
. AARP reports that 80 percent of boomers plan to work during retirement. Hurray, people are recognizing that we have to be active with a degree of risk to be healthy and stay healthy.
People who have had a great deal of stress at work often have a shock when they retire. Imagine taking a fine sports care, a Ferrari and having it rev in the parking lot. Soon it self-destructs. So do we without some stress, some reason to be alive.
A friend, Bob, in his fifties, was very successful financially and proceeded to sell his business so he could retire. While closing the deal, Bob had a heart attack followed by a deep depression.
Finally, Bob was admitted to a psychiatric ward for treatment. He came home on medications that he continued until Bob and Helen, his wife, came up with a new plan.
They decided to move to their vacation property and build a home with Bob being the general contractor. Any couple who builds their own home knows this provides more than enough challenge for most marriages! It did the trick; Bob was able to discontinue his medication and has never since had the illnesses that he experienced at retirement.
. Many retirees are looking for personal growth, activity, and purpose. In 2000, the University of Arizona conducted a study of what baby boomers wanted in housing. Large numbers had moved away from the retirement housing concept to integrated communities involving families and seniors together. They wanted an active lifestyle with a sense of community where they could give to others.
Dave was an airline pilot in his fifties, and was grounded. "I was lost, devastated. I realized then that I needed a purpose when I retired, too. I found it by combining my interest in housing with my enjoyment of people and selling real estate," he said. He is successful too, enjoying that he is able to mentor new real estate agents.
Betty, a retired teacher, now uses her talents and love of people by editing a magazine for seniors. She uses these pages to encourage others, and glows with energy and aliveness as she talks about her reinvention of retirement.
. Connecting to what makes you passionate and purposeful brings the greatest degree of joy, health and life satisfaction.
Alex, a 70 year-old, retired as a health inspector five years ago. During his career he was part of several volunteer boards and always worked out physically. Last year, he was the oldest member of all the relay teams at a 100 km run at Pullman, Washington. He finished off the year by roller skiing over 3,000 miles across Canada this summer. He continues to volunteer on four separate volunteer boards as chairman.
Ken Cross, now in his mid sixties, retired nuclear engineer, worked for the federal government inspecting nuclear stations. We met him on a road overlooking a pond filled with snow geese and sand hill cranes in New Mexico. Ken teaches photography and had arranged a tour from the Northeast to Bosque Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. "I started the retirement process when I was 57, by making an appointment with a career counselor and it took me five years to get it all together," he said. "I've changed what I do, not that I've stopped doing things. There is no end to the satisfaction I have."
In the past, your career has given you structure and purpose. You planned activities around your work schedule. Vacation, family time, and personal projects were adjusted to fit into your schedule.
In retirement, you move from external controls to inner motivation. Remember, as a human being, you continue to seek growth at any age. Retirement offers the freedom to express yourself fully with your desires and purpose now more center stage perhaps than at any other time of your life.
Three steps to reinventing retirement
First, develop a greater knowledge of yourself. Appreciate your uniqueness and talents. The world needs those talents. What we enjoy doing is where our talents lie. List 5-10 items that you enjoy doing.
Also, consider your values. Values are ideals or principles that give you direction. They determine what is important to you. Each of us admires different ones in our unique combination. Which three from the following list are most important to you: balance, health, concern for others, humor, character, humility, commitment, integrity, courage, kindness, excellence, knowledge, faith, loyalty, fairness, openness, family, optimism, freedom, perseverance, generosity, prosperity, genuineness, respect for others, happiness, service to others, harmony.
Now ponder how you can combine your interests and values into an activity, a new career that would allow you to feel enthusiasm, excitement, and a sense of living fully.
Second, experiment with your new idea. If you are not yet retired, start experimenting now. Consider career counseling where you can check your skills and aptitudes more closely. Two websites - www.assessments.com and www.careerkey.org - offer free questionnaires that are based on valid career search theory. The free service offers helpful information and for a fee you receive a more comprehensive report.
Brian Kurth, of Vocation Vacations provides opportunity to explore other careers or enterprises. Brian claims that the most popular dream jobs are brewmaster, cheese maker, bed and breakfast operator, and vintner. Check out his website at www.vocationvacations.com.
Consider enrolling in studies in areas that have always intrigued you. Local colleges, universities, and Elderhostel await your interest.
Third, find support for your new expression/career by seeking others who have made the change you desire. Join groups who share your interest and hear their enthusiasm.
Be aware that your family may not be the ones to offer you support. They want you to be safe. Our son keeps saying, "Aren't you ready to go fishing or sailing yet?"
Summary
Retirement was conceived when workers did not live much past the age of 65. Times have changed.
We are living longer; we are healthier than previous generations at the designated retirement age.
We require more resources, more finances to live longer. Our wisdom and expertise is needed.
We need the creativity of older people even more today. Creativity generates jobs. Older workers are goldmines of experience, skills and values. You are at your peak; practice makes perfect.
Retirement offers the freedom to express yourself fully. Plumb your desires, and find ways to be active, expressive, healthy, passionate and creative. Have fun, dream, and live your passion! |
