A few days ago, “Sparky” over at Mr. Fire Station posted a list of the five stages of retirement. In the third stage, the Bloomberg graphic claims that you need to be prepared for the boredom which will inevitably set in. I voiced my opinion in my comment on his blog, and I will say it again now…
That’s bull pucky!
We live in a great big, vast world in which you have learned exactly 0% of all of the things out there to be discovered! Even the inside of your own mind is endless! (I admit, I read that somewhere!) But it’s so true! Anything that even remotely peaks your interest is yours for the taking, and in this Encore Voyage, you have nothing if not time to pursue those interests.
For me, I have found that each time I decide I want to learn something new, it keeps leading me to the next thing, and I can’t decide what I should try next! In fact, I keep finding that I don’t have enough time to tackle all the things I want to try! That age old expression, “When did I find time to work?” is certainly true!
Take, for example, my saxophone. A few years back, commented that I wanted to play a second, more portable musical instrument. I already play the piano, but it’s a little difficult to pack up and take to a party! My piano teacher advised me that I have the “attitude of an alto sax player” whatever that’s supposed to mean, and now I’m the proud owner of a beautiful alto sax. I’m committed to one day playing that sucker! Right now, I’m at the “squawking like I’m calling geese” stage, but I will improve with practice and time.
The point is, in retirement, especially in this internet age, you can learn to do pretty much anything you put your mind to…So I ask you
Instead of sitting around being bored and waiting for the next stage to arrive, how about you ask yourself some questions:
What’s next?
What are my goals?
What do I want to learn, do, or be?
Is there anything that I’ve always wanted to try?
Where do I see myself in the next 10 years?
Because, my friend, if you don’t pay attention, you will let your retirement years slip away. You will sleep in, watch TV, play computer games, go out to lunch with friends, play golf, babysit those grand kids, and before you know it, a couple of decades will have passed, and I don’t want you to get to the end of it asking, “Is that it???” Because the only path to a rich, rewarding and vigorous retirement requires some soul searching, self-reflection, and learning new things!
An Encore Voyage 