I saw this story in Business Insider today and it really got me thinking. The writer had watched her father-in-law retire at 55 after a career in forestry. Today, he is 87 and has no regrets about leaving the workforce early.
His daughter-in-law, on the other hand, says she does not want to follow in his footsteps.
Melissa Noble is fortunate. As a professional writer, she loves what she does and the days just seem to pass by quickly.
“I think when your work is your passion, like it is for me, early retirement is less appealing,” she wrote. “My work gives me a sense of achievement that I worry I’d never find with hobbies.”
She is correct in that regard. However, I think she’s speaking from a youthful outlook. After all, she is still in her 40s. Trust me, I had more energy than I knew what to do with in my late 40s. But, then I hit a wall in my late 50s.
While Melissa may be content to stay on the job until she keels over at her desk, millions of other people look forward to early retirement for a second chance at a much more fulfilling life.
Melissa’s father-in-law, Frank, spends his days gardening, golfing and going to the gym. I can see why she would not find that appealing either. That may be ideal for him, but I would lose my mind if that’s all I did in retirement.
Frank went from having a very busy work schedule each day and a lot of responsibility managing a team to a quieter life with little stress, the article noted.
This is truly appealing to many people. In fact, retirees flock to Sun City, Ariz., where I live, due to the fact the city of 60,000 has eight golf courses and eight recreation centers. Yet, many people are bored to death.
You see, they lack purpose in their lives. When people are focused on their pleasures all day, many times it is not enough to motivate them to get out of bed. As a result, they spend the day doomscrolling through news or wasting time on social media.
The rinse-and-repeat of a dull schedule does not excite them enough to give their lives the meaning they once enjoyed as a busy parent or employee on a mission. This is especially true for men.
- The Social Security Administration found men who retire at 55 are 89% more likely to die before they reach 65.
- The National Center for Biotechnology Information discovered that many men who retire at 65 are dead by 68.
That’s why people who opt to retire early absolutely need a plan regarding what they want to do in retirement to give their lives more meaning and purpose.
Melissa does not want to stop working because she enjoys making money. Yet, I personally know hundreds of people who have built online businesses or who are doing work in retirement that is vastly different from what they did in their careers.
They key is they have time independence, often financial independence and sometimes location independence, too. The ability to set your own schedule and work with people you want to work with whenever you want to work gives retirees tremendous freedom.
My mother worked her university job well past 65. When she finally retired, she wondered why she waited so long. She was more like Frank in that she was burned out from a job that caused a lot of stress and commuting hassles.
If you want to retire early, don’t wait! There are plenty of reasons to do so, and even more resources to help you do it the right way.
If you’d like help in figuring out what you can do in retirement that would give your life more meaning and purpose, I’d be honored to have a free brain storming session with you. Or, do a more formal assessment and provide some coaching to help you get a jump start to a truly fulfilling second half of life.
Simply email me at greg@forwardfrom50.com. Those kind of conversations really get my creative juices flowing, and I love the synergy it creates.
