Society has limited retirement concerns on financial reserves but not about what YOU are going to do for however long you live with yourself. Life insurance and investments are supposed to cover all your financial concerns about retirement. But if we actually studied or listened to retirees, they will tell you they are at a loss, confused or challenged.
His face changed dramatically when I pointed out that I am now, according to society, “semi-retired” and I have discovered that entering semi-retirement or retirement officially qualifies as the second mid-life crisis for men. For women it might be third after mid-life and menopause. The term mid-life crisis really stuck with my host since he either just went through it or was on the edge of impending doom.
The first mid-life crisis generally tends to be physiological, sexual and hormonal. The second mid-life crisis, as far as I can tell, is really about how to fill the void created by losing your place in the rat race. I have friends who prepared for their retirement by buying property and eventually putting up a farm, others did “APOstolic” work or time with their grand kids here or abroad.
Taking my cue from all of the above observations, I turtle crawl my way to filling the void instead of facing the blank walls. I recently heard someone say: “Just decide you’re going to do it, whatever ‘it’ means, then try to figure out how to do it after.” Many successful people did not know what they were getting themselves into after they decided they were doing it. I decided I was not going to complicate life. I simply did what I had not done as they came along.
The thing is, experts and research now tell us that we need to open those doors and reconnect socially with people because having a regular community of people with shared values and support prolongs life. In order to fill in the void, that’s exactly what we’re doing. Aside from having community, bring in the machines, the exercise machines, recondition your street bikes and just like that, you are filling the void created by having too much time.