I have been talking to some people about the inevitable end to a career, retirement. Here are some of the key insights. There is more to life than your current job. Invest your new found time in your life.Do more of your interests. Many people take vacations and do more leisure activities. Others spend more time on their hobbies, or change them into businesses. More time for family, especially grandchildren. Enjoy what the world offers. And as a friend told me, it's a good time to stop and smell the roses.
Learning something new. Try something you always wanted to do. Learn to play an instrument, buy the newest electronics, try the latest social networking site are among the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of things that are possible. Doing so will keep one's mind active and fresh.
Contribute differently. After my father-in-law retired from the Air Force, he began consulting for a R&D company on applying for government contracts. He later became the COO of the company. After retiring from there, he became a adjunct professor at a local university. I'm sure he will start another career after being a professor.
Many of my colleagues, who have retired, have gone on to different jobs (e.g. financial industry, small businesses) or volunteer work (e.g. tutoring). Not because they have to financially. All of them do not need the addtional money. It's because they want to continue to be contibuting and productive members of their community.
In today's world, there is more opportunity to do more after retirement. Especially, if one has planned well financially. Perhaps the mantra should be retire early and often:-)
For more articles on retirement, come back every Friday for our Reaping the Rewards segment.
Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, Carmem L Vilanova
This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.
Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC
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3 comments:
I couldn't agree more. There is plenty to get out of life after finishing your main career.
Separately, there is very strong evidence that keeping physically and mentally active is the best way to maximise both life expectancy and your health.
Trainee Investor,
Thanks for the comments. Agree fully with benefits of staying physically and mentally active.
This is really thoughtful. When you say "newest electronics" sometimes I think that those things keep your brain active...everytime you try to fiddle with it and try to learn how it works. I think it's a subtle but very useful suggestion there.
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