The Importance Of Retirement

I cannot emphasize the following points too strongly:

Retirement is a beginning of something new, not just an ending.

Certainly, people often identify the idea of Retirement as the end of their working life, and this is certainly the case, unless, of course, we just take Retirement from one job and go out and start another one. This does happen, but if we start another job, at least if it’s a full-time job, after “Retiring” from our current job, then we really haven’t Retired yet. We have just changed jobs and that’s not uncommon.

But let me talk about a true “Retirement” where we cease to work full time and enter the new world of leisure and self-directed engagement. This is the world of Retirement that most of us long for, if we have

This is completely anecdotal, of course. I have been meeting more and more Retirees who tell me that they have been officially Retired LONGER than they worked in life. I think that this is wonderful and allows us the luxury to explore alternative ways of living for many more years. (This is now one of my Life Goals to meet or exceed.)

And, yet, sadly, I have met many older employed workers who are delaying their Retirement decision, not because of money (though that’s some) but because they are afraid to start this chapter of their life.

Now here comes the fear:

I have been told by folks that they will not begin their Retirement because it is, “The beginning of the End of life.” I understand that a person can feel this way and I certainly do not blame them for finding fear in this thought.

Others have told me that they are just plain afraid because they do not have a clue about what they will do with their time, once retired from work life.

Well, first, let’s review the fear of the end of Life.

What about “the end”? Let me share some thoughts about this and see if it helps others tempted to draw the same conclusion as those described

But, they won’t say it, will they? No. They’ll get you on the phone and say, “Hi. I thought that you would want to know that Tilly PASSED tonight. Like, she had GAS which was the most popular original meaning of the phrase, She Passed. Or, they may say, “Hi, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you that we LOST Tilley this evening.” (If she was extremely old and bed ridden, aren’t you tempted to say, “You LOST her??? Well, I’ll gather a posse and we’ll come over and help to find her… She’s pretty slow. She couldn’t have gotten