So, you are RETIRED! But are you TIRED?

Retirement is the stage when life once again provides a blank sheet of paper to redesign life and create something new and different. It’s a time of unparalleled freedom and flexibility, a chance to open Pandora’s box and redefine your dreams and goals. This is when you’re firmly in control of your future, empowered to shape it as you wish.

Retirement isn’t just a new stage; it’s a new chapter of life brimming with experiences and understandings waiting to unfold. It’s a time to embrace bliss, not just retirement. Why not start exploring these new opportunities today and see retirement as a time of immense growth, new experiences, and excitement about what’s to come?

The word ‘retired’ is not derived from re+tired; instead, it comes from the French word “retirer,” which means to withdraw. Let’s reframe this as a withdrawal from the old to make space for the new, inspiring us to embrace change and new beginnings with a sense of readiness and inspiration.

Retirement is more of an attitude when a person bids adieu to all his dreams and goals. It is like allowing the ghost of old age to shatter the doors and take away all the pleasures and agility that were once a norm. Ultimately, the person must return to accepting being a ‘child’, where he wastes his entire life posing and trying to be ‘mature.’ It is when you sit back in an easy chair and start preaching sermons and advice to the people around you – something you, yourself, never followed in life.

My father retired from active government office at 58. He was more agile and robust than he was in his forties. Despite my apprehensions about his jobless years, he found a decent and more reassuring job and started doing charity. He grew busier and pushed back his age to nurture his dreams. Instead of the ‘Sarkari Gadi’, he started riding his scooter more actively and smartly than I did as a teenager.

Psychological factors play havoc when a person retires. It’s a nasty transition from a structured, work-focused, and financially meaningful life to one where one endeavours to explore new routines, goals, and monetary resources. The worst scenario is when the person falls from a commanding page 3 position royale to a meagre soul, devoid of power and charisma, forced to survive in the corner of the house.

Looking at the greener side of the precipice – the colour and fragrance exude from each moment of post-retirement.

*After struggling under authority for many years, retirement brings a sense of self-identity and individuality.

*Time to rejuvenate unfulfilled dreams, which include personal passions, travel, reading, and relaxation.

*Digging and nurturing long-lost relationships on the ventilator for ages, visiting old friends and relatives more frequently. Spend your time on those who have loved you unconditionally – you have wasted enough on those who loved you when the conditions were right for them.

*Engaging in mentally stimulating activities, such as learning a new language, taking up a hobby like painting or gardening, or volunteering for a passionate cause, can help you avoid boredom and cognitive decline.

*Adapting to active health restoration activities, such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, preventive health check-ups, and working out futuristic financial plans, like investing in retirement funds and managing expenses, are crucial for a fulfilling retirement.

The most exciting part is discovering the dynamics of a post-retirement love life. When your children are married and engaged in their professions, it’s time to say a meaningful hello and hug your spouse warmly. However, the brunt of daily routines, job priorities, and family responsibilities has taken a toll on romantic allure in recent years.

Shoving routine arguments and tiffs into the air, it’s time to rekindle and renew physical and emotional intimacy. Spending more time together may rejuvenate identity, deepen bonds and rediscover roles. It’s when someone returns home from work one day and says, ‘Honey, I’m home forever.’

Romancing in old age unearths another chapter, with character and charisma different from those of their youthful years. It emphasizes profound emotional connection, camaraderie, and mutual support. Although the intensity and yearning might nosedive, the depth and meaningfulness of relationships grow richer, focusing more on shared experiences, understanding, and care.

The best part of retirement is that the wife gets twice as much husband for half as much money.

Love and companionship in the post-retirement life can be fulfilling and rewarding. Whether as a bachelor or widow, this stage offers opportunities for sensitive connectivity, personal growth, and shared involvement, often with a sense of liberty, not coercion, that earlier stages of life may not have allowed.

The biggest test, however, is to accept the impending change and the physical and financial challenges that come when a person hangs up his boots for good. This requires immense mental and emotional preparation throughout your working days. A man can still deal with his expected retirement if he’s done some homework to work things out.

What about retirement, where life and destiny force a person to accept the most unexpected and unwanted times and situations? Despite his vigour at work and intention to serve, a professional faces a drought of clients because he cannot compromise ideals and principles – this is a unique opportunity for a new chapter in life, not a ‘forced retirement ‘.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN said – “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years”. 

This quote is particularly relevant in retirement, as it encourages us to make the most of our time and live life to the fullest, regardless of our age or circumstances.

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