The First Year of Your New Life

Chance favors the prepared mind.

— Louis Pasteur

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The first year on the other side of the retirement threshold is easy for some, difficult for others, and different for everyone. It is a big transition, and as part of that transition you need to uncover your fears and emotions, and embrace the choices you have.

Therefore, the critical factor you must address is that change is indeed upon you. This is not a rehearsal of life; this is it. If you don't recognize that change is in your hands and that you simply must handle it and make decisions, then you will inevitably fall into a slow-paced, static, sedentary lifestyle. You will become used to boredom and restlessness, and — perhaps most importantly — it will slowly damage your body beyond repair. A few extra pounds here and there, a few extra glasses of wine, only a little bit of exercise, and a sleep-in day each week will all mount up.

Welcome to the Roller Coaster

When people first pass through the threshold from the work world to the rest of their lives, most have some sort of expectation of what things will look like on the other side; but few expect to find themselves sitting in a roller-coaster car. The ride begins with a slow uphill climb, as expected, and there is even a moment or two to pause and enjoy the sunny view from the top.

Suddenly, without warning, the car plunges down into a dark tunnel, where things prove to be more different than expected. Being seasoned travelers, most people don't panic, assuming that they will be back in the sunshine very soon.

But this metaphorical roller coaster has another destination, and before you know what has happened, you find yourself deep inside a carnival fun house, where the roof threatens to cave in on you, and unseen hands grab your sleeve from the left and right. What is most unnerving is that everyone seems to want something from you or to tell you what to do, and the whole experience makes you increasingly uneasy.

It does not seem to matter whether you were looking forward to being a glorified couch potato or whether you were dreading the endless hours around the house. Something that you can't quite put your finger on is making you very irritable, and there is just no pleasing you. When you are alone, you crave company, and when the relatives come over, you grimace and go hide in the den.

If you are like most of us, you get out of bed every day with the intention of keeping things on an even keel, but it doesn't always turn out that way. The purpose of this book is to offer some suggestions as to how to make your postwork journey look more like the following diagram:

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Your Third Journey

Up until now, you have navigated through life using a set of lifestyle morals and principles that were either passed down to you by your parents or acquired independently through your own life experiences. If you are blissfully happy with your current situation, and your future is assured, close this book and walk away. We have no desire to wake you from the dream life that most Oldsters are still seeking.

However, if you are having a slightly uncomfortable thought that this might not be what you really want, then perhaps there are a few ideas in here that might prove useful.

We'll let you be the judge.

But before you do, consider the following: the way that human life is structured all over the planet. Every fiber of your being is conditioned to participate in an endless uphill climb throughout your first fifty years or so. There are goals to set, responsibilities to meet, children to raise, and promotions to acquire. Regardless of your culture, ethnicity, or religion, great pains are taken to equip you with the life skills that you need to make this initial journey.

But traditional retirement life presents itself as the antithesis of this; everything is geared toward winding down, managing some degree of failing physical functionality, and accepting diminished mental capacity.

Except for financial planning, there is no universal standard or source of collective wisdom for planning a successful second fifty years. The universal, generally accepted mantra seems to be, "Enjoy your time as you can, and accept your circumstance. You are old, and you are just going to get older."

It all seems so futile, and for a lot of people it is, because modern society has lulled us into a submissive state where we are conditioned to accept and expect that once we pass the age of sixty-five, we begin a long, slow slide into oblivion.

Considering Your Options

What can you do to prepare if you are not yet retired?

Should you consider embarking on a second career?

What can you do if you are already in the postwork phase of your life, and you are determined to reject the notion that everything is downhill from here on?

And so we say again: the only thing you really should be pondering with regard to the postwork phase of life is whether you are going to sink into the golden age of so-called decay or willfully choose the road not yet taken and embark on your Third Journey in defiance of yourself, your circumstances, and advice from well-intentioned family members.

"So why bother?" you might ask.

"Well, what if you are a scientist, sitting on the cure for cancer, but you don't know that yet, and you never find out because you stopped going to the lab because your knees ached a bit, and you didn't like riding the bus?"

"That's ridiculous."

"No, it isn't. Just because a company or a government retired you does not mean that you have fulfilled your purpose as a person or that you have accomplished your mission."

"But I am sixty-five years old!"

"Well, then, you'd better get moving in a hurry if you want to get everything done in time!"

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Okay, so we exaggerate a little to make a point, but the following list...