Retiring Gracefully!

Over the last few months, we have been meeting and catching up in person with the older generation of our extended family. This was something that we dearly missed in the last 2 years during the pandemic. These are our Uncles/Aunts/Grandparents in the age bracket of 70 to 92 years old ??, Unlike others, they were the ones who had silently suffered being non-social/limited socialization during the pandemic. Few of them had retired long ago from their business/job, some were on the verge of closing the enterprise as the next generation didn’t want to get into the family business, and some had moved with their children as it was becoming difficult to manage everything by themselves and some were still on their own even at the age of 87 & 92. A couple of them had lost their spouse during Covid whereas few were anxious about reaching the last few years of their lifespan. What really stood out for me was the ones who had reflected long ago on how they would like to spend their retired life were emotionally & psychologically doing better than others who had not slowed down while aging & hence felt paralyzed and anxious. Fortunately, most of them had intelligently & diligently made good financial planning to be better off at this age, however, the psychological & health investments took a backseat.

I have been thinking about this for a while now…read on if you too would like to ponder on the same:

1.      We often do get our identity from our work. Moving beyond the work-focused life that you have led for 40+ years isn’t an easy task. Post-retirement is like being a fresher, has no experience of what to do & doesn’t really work on its own! The transition from a career or work-focused life to personal-centered life could be a little better if we integrate doing things early on that gives us enjoyment, meaning & purpose. Engaging outside the professional lives may also help.

2.      We may tend to park everything or a lot of it for post-retirement – more time to travel, more time for hobbies, or more time to relax – but our health & well-being may not support us then. Instead, enjoy your today, and let your kids build their future on their own! Incidentally, it's my father’s 10th death anniversary today. Throughout his life, he worked hard to make our future safe and secure and hardly took time off. How I wish he could enjoy & reap the fruits of his hard work of close to 3 decades.

3.      Retiring does not have to mean “no work”, it essentially is slowing down. It means doing things that your age & health support. One may explore new interests, find a meaningful direction to work on, continue working in a modified form, or mentor/guide the young generation through different forums and outlets.  

I am a big fan of a few of these oldies from our family who thoroughly enjoy playing a variety of board games, and video games with us and their grandchildren, some who have learned new skill sets and are tech-savvy and some who started their new venture are busier than us and the one who is bed-ridden yet ever smiling and spends her time listening to audio stories. They are all very inspiring.

Let us age gracefully and create our own definition of retirement! How about figuring it out when we hit the mid-life crisis ?? time for us to create a life beyond work that is basic yet crucial, simple yet impactful, intuitive yet mindful!