fbpx

planning retirement

What is Your Definition of Retirement?

by

How has the definition of retirement changed in our lifetime?

Society has changed dramatically in the last 60 years. For a previous generation that word RETIREMENT stereotypically meant the absolute end of your working life.  Now that meaning of retirement is being challenged.

For many people of our generation, having time to travel or pursue special interests became the dream.  And so the definition of the word retirement remained the same for a while: leaving all forms of paid work permanently.

Of course, the exception to this has always been successful wealthy individuals who retired from their employment and took on paid directorships or consultant roles within their industry. Maybe they were on to something. They were continuing to create income long after traditional retirement. Many people are now considering how they can do the same.

Language is flexible. Words change their meaning according to the context and what is going on in the world.

happy retirement party

Life happens…not always the way you want it to.

[Read more…] about What is Your Definition of Retirement?

Considering Retirement?

by

People talk a lot about how important it is to have a passion for the work you do, but sometimes even the things you have a passion for can lose some of their attraction over time. If you feel this way perhaps you are starting to consider retirement.

time to retire clock

I love my work, but right now the prospect of being on a permanant holiday – the traditional form of retirement – is so very appealing.

Relaxing holiday

I have spent two weeks over Christmas and New Year relaxing and doing what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it, with few constraints.  Certainly I spent many hours preparing, cooking and serving food for a few days around Christmas, and that’s hard work but it’s also a labour of love.

I didn’t achieve much but I wasn’t bone idle the whole time. We went boating for several days and that always involves some physical exertion.  I swam and did gentle aquarobics two or three times daily, often for up to an hour.  It was a beautiful way to spend the time, almost meditative and certainly very relaxing.

What it boils down to is that when I was “on holidays” I could read until late if I felt like it (often), sleep until late if I wanted to (never), eat at all the wrong times (regularly), immerse myself in the pool (consistently), listen to good music (constantly) and almost never feel rushed for time. I loved all that.

Choosing between a traditional retirement and a retirement lifestyle business

Yet I have always protested that I didn’t want to retire from my business until I was well beyond the traditional retirement age. I feel concerned that I would lose my sense of purpose and would no longer be doing the things I love to do.

Perhaps I have been looking at all that from the wrong angle. Perhaps the things I love to do in my working life are an important part of who I am, but the things I love to do in my holidays reflect the essence of me.

So the reality is here and I need to get on with things.  It’s a new year with new and ongoing business commitments.  It’s a year in which I intended to achieve a great deal.

Am I really considering retirement?

[Read more…] about Considering Retirement?