A Retirement Prequel

My recent trip to Singapore was the first vacation in years that was more than a week chilling on the beach. The last similar trip I had was exploring Europe – mostly alone – for 2.5 weeks. Usually my Mom is interested in being in a luxury bubble and not actually learning about or exploring the local area. Singapore was different and it gave me an unexpected and unique insight into my life in retirement.

I’ve talked about how in retirement I’m not retiring “to” something in the traditional sense: coding or consulting like many bloggers. Instead I want to explore the world. I want to live in, explore and learn about the new places I’m within. I believed this would give me sufficient purpose and “things to do” so that I do not miss the challenge of work (not that challenge is exactly the word I’d use…)

This trip let me put that hypothesis to the test and I’m ecstatic to report I was right! When in Singapore I had loose goals: eat everything, see beautiful things and better understand Singaporean culture. I had no expectations going in and every day presented something I wanted to learn more about, read about and ask about. My days were filled about half with exploring and half with chilling and researching. I didn’t even have time to read my finance blogs! I was seriously backlogged by the time my 10 days were up. That surprised me.

We weren’t going on large adventures: usually 4 hours a day. Sometimes 6, but nothing excessive and yet my days were filled. I was excited to welcome each day and see what it would bring. Every day was met with more questions and things to learn: HOW was Singapore so rich? Why does Singapore have a mini-downtown only for banks? How does Singapore keep the city so clean and orderly? These questions and cataloging my experience consumed my nights while the actual exploration consumed my days. It was amazing. And this didn’t even include searching and planning for the next place I would be! I was mostly dragged along (in a good way) by my hosts.

Another interesting outcome of the trip was my mood during it: I was the most zen, “go with the flow” version of myself I’ve ever experienced. I was less anxious than I have been in recent memory: even on vacation. I was not secretly upset when plans didn’t go my way. I wasn’t tense when the person behind me on a 13.5 hour plane ride used the back of my seat as a leg rest/kickstand. I didn’t stress about different suggestions my hosts gave or think about how I wouldn’t want to do one or more of them. I literally went with the flow and was super zen during it. Could this be Retirement Me?

If so, I’m super excited with who I will become. This anxious woman that requires hours (and sometimes days) to recover from a workweek only to look up and discover a new one has started might become a person of the past once I stop working. That is an outcome of retirement I didn’t anticipate! This possibility paired with the assurance that I can fill my days with exploration and be completely fulfilled makes me even more excited for Early Retirement! To the next few years!