Retirement Advice: Do Something!

Is your retirement a dream or a nightmare?

Retirement is a big challenge. Most people have grand ideas about the kind of retirement they want to live: their own personal retirement lifestyle. You probably do too. If you are like most people, you have been dreaming about what you can do when you are free. Unfortunately you never actually sat down and made a plan. Somehow you thought that you would figure it out when you get there.

Now, you are retired. It should be easy. You have never had so much free time on your hands. But somehow even all the time you have seems inadequate to make those dreams happen. Where does the time go? Who filled your calendar with appointments and commitments? Why is it that you never have time to do the things you dreamed about? You may be retired but your life seems just as out of control as when you were working. How could that be?

Taking control back.

Retirement isn’t working out quite the way you hoped. You are busy. You don’t have the free time and you aren’t making the lifestyle you wanted. Whatever happened to your plans? Maybe you were going to find a good activity to support as a volunteer. Maybe it was a trip with your wife. Maybe you wanted to learn yoga or tai chi and get in shape; maybe even run a marathon. You may have wanted to do all those things but you haven’t even started one. When you take a breather to think it all over, it is overwhelming. So many tasks and so little time. You have lost control of your calendar and your priorities and it all looks hopeless, The vision that was so clear when you were working has gotten confused. How can you get back on track? Where do you find the time to make your vision happen and how do you start?

What seemed so easy to accomplish back when you were working now seems impossible. You don’t know where to begin. How can you ever hope to control your time and how can you possibly do what it takes to make your dream retirement a reality? The answer is simple; do something!

Pick one goal and take action.

To be more specific, start by picking something out of your list. Then carve out whatever time you can and schedule it in your calendar. (You do have a calendar, right? You are serious about your dreams, are you not?) Then pick something out that will start you on the path to making that dream a reality. Maybe it is only getting more information about your dream like making a list of volunteer organizations and finding out what you might do for them. Starting on the path begins to make it real, both to you and to your friends and family. When they see that you are serious, they can become part of your support system instead of an excuse and an obstacle. When you take that first step and complete it then take the next one. Interview the organizations to find out which one is best for you. Then finally lock it in. Become a volunteer and control your calendar to make it happen. Take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Then pick another goal and start again.

Take the advice of Lao-tzu

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Take that step and you will be on the way to getting your retirement wishes to come true.