(If you didn’t read part 1 you may want to read it first)
Image by BuhSnarf via Flickryou may want to read it first)
Retirement Lifestyle Design
So now I describe my role in life as designing a retirement lifestyle. I never designed a lifestyle before. I just made due with the lifestyle that came with my other life decisions. I had a job which meant that I had to live within commuting distance of work. This job had a predetermined income that controlled how much I could spend. Finally I had a perception of a society that expected a me to measure up to standards. When all was said and done, I had very little discretion in my life. I wasn’t an individual. I was a cog. I had the illusion of freedom. I could pretend to be the master of my domain but when push came to shove, I was a rat in a maze.
I didn’t even know I had a choice.
I think it is common for people to refuse to see their situations just like I did. They are blind to the real choices and pretend that they have chosen a lifestyle. They may be unsatisfied and unhappy but they see only limited options, principally finding another job that defines them differently.
At this point I leave to Tim Ferris the job of taking the blinders off people in the workplace. I wasn’t open to clear thinking about lifestyle when I was working. I don’t know how to make others see what I was blind to. Right now not having a job and discovering who I really am and how I really want to live is about the most I can manage. There is more to me than my work title but it is all hidden.
Who am I really?
What skills do I possess? What kind of lifestyle would make me happy? What skills do I need to master to make that lifestyle possible? All the questions I should have asked and answered as a twenty year old still wait for me. Am I up for the challenge?
I would say you are definitely up for the challenge Ralph, but obviously it’s in your own hands what you do about it.
I think you get too uptight about your previous employment – forget it, that was another life, look to the future. That’s my opinion for what it’s worth.
Bill
Bill Murney’s last Blog Post ..Falling Behind
Bill,
You are probably right but I think it is important to be transparent about my experience. How I got to my current path I hope will encourage other people to look at their own lives and start thinking about what they really want.
Ralph@retirement lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..What is RalphCarlsonBlog, Part 2
I’m with Bill on letting go of your previous employment its perceived impact on your life (style). I think of my career only as a vehicle to get me through life and now into the glorious land of retirement. I’ve since traded in that vehicle for something a little more comfortable…a bicycle. That’s become my ‘lifestyle’.
hansi’s last Blog Post ..Have I Been a Bad Boy?
Hansi,
If I hear you right you are telling me to get over it. It’s what I’m doing but I’ll try to lighten up. Don’t think I’m ready for a bike though.
Ralph@retirement lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..On Education
I don’t think that most twenty year olds asked and answered those questions. Don’t waste time regreting the past-it got you to where you are now. Aren’t you in a pretty good place?
Donna,
I get it. I’m whining. I guess getting old has the unavoidable consequence of recognizing all the things you should have done and wondering where you might have ended up. And yes, I am in a pretty good place. Still, the clock isn’t up and I’d like to get the most out of the remaining years.