The Workplace, Life's Work and Retirement

A Thought Provoking Article on Retirement
I recently read an article entitled "Why Retirement is Bad for You", which highlights the idea that humans need challenges to replenish their sense of self-esteem, and without them, we die a little inside every day.

I give a speech a few times a year about career strategies with the future in mind called: "Think Work, Not Job - How to Get The Work You Want and Evolve With It." One of my points is that I don't plan on retiring like the smiling, healthy people on the Freedom 55 TV ads; I want to keep my mind active for as long as possible to continue my life's work - whether I'm getting paid or not.

Career Considerations
I'm not saying everybody needs or even wants to continue their life's work, but for those that do, true retirement may prove to be very frustrating, if not deadly. One of my favorite David Ogilvy quotes is about two different careers in life, the second starting at about the age of sixty. So, whether it's one long career path or two different careers, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that one may live longer if they have things to accomplish.

The article ends by stating that entrepreneurs love to burnish their legacies nearly as much as they love to rack up accomplishments, but that doesn't deliver the same vitality that comes from shaking things up and tackling new challenges. I personally think it's a fantastic article and worth investigating for those who are on simlar wavelengths.

Continuing Interests After Retirement - a case study
Don't get me wrong, I am not against retirement, in fact, both my mother and father are retired and they had good reasons to work in their respective fields, one of which was to properly raise my siblings and I, even though they were divorced for most of my natural life. It was in retirement that their hobbies and part time activities took over - one teaches and plays tennis and the other paints and plays music - they are hardly relaxing! I am not raising a family and so I have chosen a different path (and it is a different world now, compared to the 1960's, 70's and 80's).

Perhaps I would have titled the article: "Why Retirement could be Bad for You." In any case, it's a god read.

Read the article here: Why retirement is bad for you

- Buck Moore