Don’t let what other people think control your life.
One of the difficulties in charting your fulfilling retirement is what other people think. We have been calling a focused and passionate vision in retirement outrageous because it goes beyond the expectations that most people have about what retirement is and what retired people do. If there was a time for meeting other people’s expectations in your life, that time is past. In retirement there are no limits except the ones that you permit. If you listen to what other people think you should be doing in retirement then you deserve the pale, predictable, limited and dull existence that most retired people live. As you plan your outrageous retirement, stop listening to well-meaning advice. Shut our the buzz of conventional thinking and let your own passions run free.
Get away from the noise and get in tough with your feelings
Take some time and get away from people, advice and the demands of your current life. It may be a week in a quiet place away from your environment or just a few hours of solitude. It has to be enough time to let your mind relax and get in touch with who you really are and what is important. Don’t think about obligations – real or imagined. Just focus on you, on your life up to now and everything you ever wished to do. What is left to accomplish? This list is your mission. Now your path is simple. Do what it takes to accomplish the tasks on your list. Focus your attention; manage your resources;plan your actions to make them happen.
Stop Listening to advice
Now that you have your mission for your personal and fulfilling outrageous retirement, stop paying attention to what anyone else is doing and more important listening to what they are saying. Their advice is worthless because they can’t see your vision. There is a story about a hunting dog chasing a rabbit. So long as you can see the rabbit running, dodging and backtracking around the field, the behavior of the dog chasing him makes sense. If the rabbit were invisible, however, the dog would seem to have no purpose in his actions and you would think he was crazy. In retirement, you are the dog and your outrageous retirement is the invisible rabbit. Your actions might look crazy to anyone with a ‘settle for’ attitude about retirement. They can’t give you any useful advice because they are blind to your mission. Don’t listen to them.
Follow your heart
Retirement is you last chance to live the fulling life you wanted but could never quite make happen up to now. Make it happen. Listen to the passion in your heart and follow where it leads. Pay no attention to the well-meaning advice from anyone else because they can’t know your vision.
“Don’t let what other people think control your life.” That would be my mantra for happiness Ralph. Don’t worry about what other people are thinking, just follow your own heart and mind.
John
Leamington Spa, England
John McNally’s last Blog Post ..Contact with Aliens by 2031
So right John. Still it is a hard thing to do.
Ralph@Retirement Lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..Retirement Lifestyle:Working as a team
I’m doing just that: not letting peoples opinions control my life. I just publish a post which I thought was “questionable”, but upon re-reading it thought, ” Hey that’s funny with a lot of convoluted logic, I’m doin it”. Got to follow your heart! Great post.
hansi’s last Blog Post ..God’s Gift To Mankind
Hansi,
I wasn’t really thinking about you when I wrote this post. Now I’ve got to look at that post again. Imagine! Hansi actually had second thoughts about this post. Amazing.
Ralph, I have never took notice of what other people think, that’s probably why I have made so many mistakes!
Bill
Bill Murney’s last Blog Post ..100th Post & Progress Report
But they are your mistakes.
Really good post, this is a lesson that most people learn the hard way. There are things that you can listen to, but you must trust yourself. Who knows what is best for you, the public or you.
Blance,
I know I learned it the hard way. Imagine what might be possible if young people would listen to the advice of their elders. But then we might have other problems.
Ralph@Retirement Lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..Does this make me a geezer?