Retiring “To” Something

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I’ve heard it over and over again: on forums and countless blog posts that it’s important to not just retire “from” your job, but to retire “to” something: something productive that will fill the ‘hole’ working leaves. I’ve been thinking about this FIRE dogma a lot and I think we should decrease its “truth” status. I honestly don’t think this is the case for me or my Mom.

My Mom has been retired for 3 years. Previously she was in a similar situation that I am in now: she had normal jobs where she didn’t really “do” anything. She wasn’t interested in her field, her job didn’t impact the lives of others and had no real impact on the world. She didn’t feel useful or productive in her working life. So there is nothing to compensate for in retirement – she had nothing to retire “from.”

I think I’m similar in that I love doing “nothing.” Reading a book on a rainy day, sitting outside contemplating the clouds, lounging in the pool, taking long walks and talking, watching the fire on a cold day – all of these sound phenomenal to me. My Mom and I enjoy simple pleasures. We’ve never felt that drive to leave a legacy or “contribute to society” outside of being kind to others and sharing our knowledge. We think we’re here to enjoy our lives and learn.

So that’s what we plan to do. That’s what my Mom has been doing for 3 years. She has a goal to do 1 new thing a month and overall to do 1 thing that involves other people a day (maximum – she’s been known to do less than that). And it’s been working out well. She says looking back on this last year in particular she did seek out new experiences and skills to fulfill her 1 new thing a month rule and was pleased with the results. She says she’s learned a lot. I don’t think we need to specifically retire “to” something because we have nothing to retire “from” either.

For me personally I see my post-retirement life as very filled and fulfilling, without being overwhelming. One thing I want to do a lot more of is travel – without the strict rules of a job. Between actually traveling, planning the travel (including all the work I’ve been doing for Singapore, which is a lot), deciding where to travel to and dealing with the difficulties of travel as fun exercises and growth opportunities (language barriers, getting lost, learning new city transit systems, dealing with travel issues etc.) I think my plate would already be full. There will be an abundance of things to do and learn. Adding “productive work” to it doesn’t seem necessary to me. I have a long list of things I want to DO and experience, but none of them look like the painting of productivity we’re all shown. I am not retiring “to” anything in the traditional sense and I’m happy about that.

4 thoughts on “Retiring “To” Something

  1. If you end up in a “retire to something” argument, perhaps go with “retire to enjoying life and learning”?

    In fact, I’m swiping that exact wording for myself. You now have another very happy Purple Life reader!

    1. I love the new twist and wording! Let’s spread it. Also I should update this post because I fully intend to keep blogging in retirement so I guess I’ve been tricked to joining the dark side! I hope that doesn’t make you less happy Purple Life reader 🙂 .

  2. I’m so in agreement with you on this, and I left a similar comment on one of your other articles. Sometimes I feel there’s condescension from the FIRE community around ‘it’s not just retiring to sit on a beach all day’. Well, I can see a fair amount of my retirement being taken up sitting on a beach, reading, because why not! If that’s what I feel like doing that day! Happiness is different for everyone, and not everyone should feel the need to be ‘productive’, because much of that is just vanity anyway.

    1. I’m totally with you obviously. Beaches are fascinating and there are so many different kinds to see! That could take a whole lifetime – learning about everything you see on a beach, taking pictures and contemplating life. Sounds like a full-time job to me 😉 ! Completely agree happiness is different for everyone – we’re all different people. I don’t like doing lots of things just for the sake of doing them and am happier when I do ‘less’.

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