Retirement

All of us looked forward to retirement when we were working. We dream of the day when we don't have to wake up in the morning and rush, packed like sardines in a bus or the train for work. We dreamed of being able to be free to do whatever we want with the day, or with ourselves. For most of us, that day will come and we are happy to begin another phase of our life - retirement.

However, there are some people who do not look forward to retirement. They have been working all their life. Work occupies their time, and gives them purpose. Work is all they know. Because of their work, they find purpose in life. They feel useful. When they retire, there is no work to go to. There is no reason to wake up in the morning. No problems at work waiting to be solved. No adrenalin rush, no deadlines to meet. They wake up and they wonder what to do for the rest of the day. They feel useless. Their lives become aimless and empty. And they wonder if it is going to be like that for the rest of their life.

Depending on who you are, or what sort of person you are, retirement can be a fun and exciting new phase of life. Or, it could be the time when your mind and body start to deteriorate. For some people, life begins at retirement. For others, death begins at retirement.

Retirement can be a great joy if you have enough money, and have figured out what you want to do with your time and how to spend your money. If you don't have a lot of money, you will have to be a shrewd planner. Make sure you don't spend all your money before your time is up.

Retirement is a new phase of your life. It is a time when you get to decide what you want to do with your time. You can travel to see how the other half of the world lives. You can pick up a hobby, enrol for a new course; you can be a volunteer with a community or organization, or you can take it easy and go with the flow - decide what you want to do for the day after you wake up.

If you have a family, you can spend more time with your family. If you are single, you are even more free to do as you please. The trick is to enjoy yourself to the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money. That would be troublesome.

If you can afford to retire, appreciate it and make the most of it. There are people who do not have that luxury to retire due to commitments.

For those of you who are retired, are you enjoying your retirement? For those who are going to retirement soon, have you planned for your retirement?

If you are one of those who do not look forward to retirement. You need a change of mindset. Take retirement as a new ‘work’ project. Plan an adventure, reinvent yourself. Think about all the things you wanted to do, but didn’t have the time to do. Now is the time to do them. Think about what might be interesting to do, what you might like to do. Formulate a basic plan for your retirement. Plan it beforehand so that you will not be caught unaware when the day comes. You can always change your plans as you go along. You might want to do more of what interests you and less of what you do not have fun doing. It is all up to you.

The key to retirement is to relax, have fun, enjoy what you are doing. Learn to appreciate the little moments, the little things in life. Most importantly, keep yourself active – body and mind. Otherwise, both the body and mind will begin to deteriorate. That would not be fun at all.

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