The Truth About Retirement

Why Retirement As We Know Is Dead and What to Do About It

The first business I built was a retirement planning business. I made money by selling products that included fee and commission-based investment management, sales, life, health, and long-term care insurance.

My purpose was primarily to help people “sleep well at night” by managing their retirement and estate planning. I also wanted to make a lot of money, and make a lot of money, I did.

The lessons I learned about business and life were worth much more than all the money I made and lost.

The truth about retirement is that there’s a way to live and feel like “every day is a holiday” when you shift your perspective and connect with your purpose and share your gifts.

A Brief History of Retirement

Retirement, as prior generations knew it is dead. What we see online is the mindset driving the “new retirement.” That’s why we see some of the happiest people working remotely, freelancing, coaching, consulting, and working knowledge jobs that automation can’t replace.

Retirement programs as we know them today can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe and the United States. Before that time, there were no formal retirement programs, and most people worked until they could no longer physically do so and then relied on family or charity for support.

The first retirement program in the United States was established in 1875 by the American Express Company, which provided pensions to its retired employees. The concept of pensions gradually caught on, and by the early 20th century, many large corporations and some state and local governments had established pension plans for their employees.

In Europe, the first national retirement program was established in Germany in 1889 as part of a broader social welfare system. The German program provided pensions to workers who could not work due to old age or disability, and contributions from both workers and employers financed it.

The Social Security Act of 1935 established a national retirement program for most workers financed by payroll taxes in the United States. The program provided a basic level of retirement income to eligible workers, and it has since been expanded to include disability and survivor benefits.

We’ve Been Brainwashed

One of the other problems with retirement is our perception. First of all, look at the definition of retirement.

Again, why “cease work” if we can love to do work that gives us meaning, purpose, and cash flow?

There’s a reason Madison Avenue and Mad Men don’t put old depressed people in retirement ads. That would be a nightmare, not a dream.

Our perception is shaped by Mad Men, who used to work primarily on Madison Avenue. “Old-Age Insurance” is what we’ve been sold, mostly. We’re living much longer than when life expectancy was half what it is today! It’s time to adapt.

Here’s a new definition for retirement: Using our God-given gifts and abilities to serve others in the world especially if we’ve got no experience and wonder why we are making ourselves miserable that we can’t run the whole show and figure out our life purpose and impact in a semester.

Why People Lose Their Minds In Retirement

A big part of the problem with retirement is how we define and see it. Once we know what it’s not, we can begin to fill the void; live life on purpose.

If we hold ourselves up to a false ideal, we will be disappointed, if not depressed. Just look at how the most pious and self-righteous religious people are afflicted.

We lose our minds over retirement because of the same reasons we lose our minds in life. We need to know that retirement psychology is much the same as in life; if we don’t have a purpose and connections and feel meaning in life, we get lost. When we get lost, it gets dark, and we feel stuck.

A study by Wang and colleagues (2011) examined the impact of retirement on depression among older adults in the United States. The study used data from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of older adults in the U.S.

The study found that retirement was associated with a higher risk of depression among older adults in the United States. Specifically, retirees had a 40% higher risk of being diagnosed with clinical depression than those who continued to work.

The risk of depression was higher for retirees who had health problems, was unmarried, had lower incomes, and had fewer social activities. The study also found that the negative impact of retirement on depression was stronger for men than women.

The Psychology of Retirement

Ask yourself the following questions and see if you can shift your perspective about who you are, your gifts, passions, interests, purpose, and ways to feel retired without waiting thirty years:

• Why would you work in a job that makes you feel “unengaged” for thirty years only to retire with too little money, good health, or creative energy to live a rich life, whether it involves making money or not?
• What if you could feel retired when you find work and activities that give you the same feeling starting today?
• What if you could find ways to feed your mind, soul, and bank account while being of service to others for the rest of your life and adapt along the way?
• What if feeling retired means having control of your time and the work you do and pursuing activities and relationships that give you sustainable joy, meaning, and possibly even a stream of income for life by doing work you love?
• If the secret of living is giving, what are you giving of yourself, to whom, and how much is that worth emotionally and financially in the present, the ultimate gift?
• What if you’re stuck in retirement, have lots of money, and must reinvent yourself?

Take action! Start working “on” yourself. If you won’t create the life of your dreams, who will?

Never stop observing yourself by asking questions, being still, and reflecting on what gives you a sense of purpose, joy, and significance.

Retirement becomes a nonissue when we learn to live and work on purpose. Retirement is a mindset and feeling. The new retirement is feeling significance.

How to Feel Retired Sooner: The Three C’s

Retirement has been replaced by a new concept called living with purpose, getting off our butts, and staying active creatively, physically, spiritually, and involved in service work in the community.

We can do that starting at any age. Follow these three steps and focus on changing your mindset. Begin to create a plan of action that leads you to the feeling of retirement by achieving these three activities I call the “Three C’s”:

1. Create a list of activities you love to do regardless of income. Write as many things on your list as you can.
2. Circle all the activities on your list that you DO well. This means eliminating things you’re not naturally inclined to love doing long enough to get good enough to feel good enough about your effort and investment. Living life is a daily experiment. You are the inventor. Choose to do things you love to do, and do them well.
3. Choose the top three activities on your list by assigning a number to all the remaining activities. Take your time over the next few days, weeks, and years to review this list because as you age, you will grow, your gifts will expand, your passions and interests will shift, and you will know more about yourself as you progress living the life of your dreams now.

In closing, creating the life of your dreams is a process, not an event. See, feel, and believe you can and will create a life rich with purpose and fulfillment. Money is a byproduct of the value we offer. Find ways to help others and increase value!

We must take personal responsibility to plan and do different things to gain experience, self-awareness, and adapt. By becoming more self-aware, we can avoid the brainwashing of the masses.

We can wake up here and now and use our God-given creative gifts to create a life rich with purpose and meaning no matter how much money we make or have in the bank.

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This article was originally published on Medium. Thanks for reading my article and sharing or commenting. Check out my latest e-book if you’re stuck in your career or life, Reinvent Yourself: A Do-It-Yourself Guide for Strategically Designing Your Life.

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