Is there such a problem as having too much of anything? Even if it’s good for you? You can binge on the good stuff and make the results alarming. I know. I have been there and done that.
It would be like a kid celebrating Christmas morning every day for a month. We would all grow weary of “surprise!” Look what Santa brought! To make it exciting, we limit ourselves to celebrating once yearly.
Of course, Christmas is all about celebrating a birthday. We don’t know when it occurred. Could we pick another date? Sure. I’m okay with that.
But I don’t enjoy celebrating my birthday! I’ll celebrate yours if you want, but with all my contacts, that’s celebrating someone just about every day of the year. “Bappy Hirthday!” Just in case I missed yours.
This Morning
I’m sitting at our vacay resort, watching the wind act blustery and new snow falling, and realizing how blessed I am. I enjoy doing nothing a few times a year while the weather behaves the way I want.
You would think retirement
is about doing nothing and enjoying it.
It’s not, and you don’t.
I’m not, and I won’t.
I know me, and the me I’m talking about declares I must have a purpose. My dad retired at age 55, and at his retirement dinner, the CEO stepped up and gave the retirees an insight that has stuck with me these nearly 40 years.
“Don’t become a couch potato; you won’t last a year.
Find a new purpose. Get a job, even part-time.
Volunteer. Travel. Learn something new.”
(I’m paraphrasing here.)
My mom is 87, and she’s teaching college. Go figure. How old is Warren Buffett? He’s still plowing future rows!
Are you too old to sit down with someone needing instruction and share with them so they can become what they want to be? Is retirement even Biblical? Read about the Virtuous Woman of Solomon’s writing, and you don’t find retirement in the cards. (Proverbs 31:10-31)
Maybe retirement is a “word” thing. Retiring is all about slowing down. I feel this. But it’s never about doing nothing.
I feel a focus is coming to my plate that will help me deal with the future. Through the years, I’ve successfully reinvented my skill set for the next step of challenges. My computer life started with keypunch cards and ended up on web teams. Education? I finally got my Master’s later in life, but I’ve always gone to school to prepare for my next step.
I have an itchy mind to learn,
and if you know anything about scratching,
you put the desire and ability to work. Success!
What’s Next?
The future is always around the corner.
When I drive anywhere, I’m always curious about what’s around the next bend. Sometimes, I beat that curiosity into a corner and turn around to known roads.
Not now. Something is twitching in my mind and spirit, and it’s time to see what will satisfy that itch. I’ll still live my current life and keep preparing for my next decade of living. (I’m getting close to 70!)
Retirement is not about quitting. Retiring is about slowing down in new directions. I’ve used this phrase often:
The Three R’s Of Aging
Retard, Retire, Retread
Slow Down, Change Direction, Start-Up!
What’s next for you? Care to share?
Too Much of a Good Thing: Do you have an itchy mind to learn, and if you know anything about scratching, you put the desire and ability to work. Success! Click To Tweet