Freedom 65? The New Retirement

Freedom 65? The New Retirement

office desk with cardboard box on top

Today is supposed to be a pivotal day in my life.

It is the day I am supposed to clean up my office, place all my personal positions in a box and take them home.

It is the day I am supposed to officially exit the workforce and transition into a whole new life – retirement.

It is the day I have supposedly been anxiously anticipating with great excitement.

It is a day one life is supposed to end and another begin.

Today is my 65th birthday and I have zero intention or desire to do any of the above.

I consider myself to be blessed. I am part of a small, elite group of people who wake up each morning excited at the thought of going to work and look forward with eager anticipation to what the day will bring.

I begin each day with the same eagerness I have enjoyed since I first started my company 23 years ago and, indeed, everything I had done in all the years prior to that.

I cannot imagine a life without working. Like most, I have many interests outside of the workplace, but none of them come even close to providing the fun and enjoyment that going to work each day brings me.

Over the course of my career I have listened to many clients describe how stressful their workplaces are, how going to work each day is a chore and how, given a choice, they would quit the jobs in a heartbeat, but won’t do so out of fear that the next one will be as bad.

I have met many who count the days to their retirement, somewhat like a prisoner awaiting release, and the only emotion I can feel as I listen to their stories is abject pity.

I feel badly for anyone who feels trapped by circumstance in a job they hate, but truthfully, I find it difficult to empathize as I have no personal experience of what that would feel like.

I have had the good fortune being able travel extensively over my lifetime and while I have enjoyed these adventures immensely, I have always looked forward to returning home and going back to work.

I believe all experiences reside in our heads and nowhere else and have worked hard to make each day at work like the proverbial walk in the park. Of course, having a job as fulfilling as mine makes this an easy task.

My passion for my work is made so much easier by having the daily backing of my wife Gimalle who is my greatest (and only) cheerleader and who is always there in support of my various pursuits.

I have promised her that I will give some thought to retiring.

Perhaps 30 years from now.

Till we read again.

Photo of Rael Kalley,Habits coach in calgary canada

About the author

Pretium lorem primis senectus habitasse lectus donec ultricies tortor adipiscing fusce morbi volutpat pellentesque consectetur risus molestie curae malesuada. Dignissim lacus convallis massa mauris enim mattis magnis senectus montes mollis phasellus.

Leave a Comment