Retirement: Is Yours Running to Something? Or From Something? Or Just Plain Stuck?

Are you being pulled by aspiration, pushed by desperation, or just drifting in cultural sludge in your third age?

Given that 2 of 3 retirees enter retirement without a non-financial plan, drifting seems to be the default.

“Hey, no problem – what’s the big deal? Retirement will take care of itself”, they say.

Sorry. Guess again, bunko.

Entering retirement can be like an iceberg – 10% we may know about and consider in advance, 90% we may not. Many twists and turns can be expected yet retirement contingency plans remain rare.

I thought about this as I read the following excerpt from Chip Conley’s daily Modern Elder Academy blog. It’s a guest post provided by 80-year old Pat Whitty, a Certified Health Coach and “Modern Elder Whisperer.” He’s a regular attendee at Conley’s Modern Elder Academy (MEA) gatherings.

Pat and I just met this week via Zoom. Wow, do his message and life travels resonate. Maybe it will for you as well.

Two parts of Pat’s story stand out (there is a lot more to learn which I look forward to). One, he lost 55 pounds in his seventies and transformed his health. Two, he decided to abandon the corporate world and start a new business at 78.

Can we all agree that Pat is an outlier in both categories?

Here’s the article. Enjoy and ponder (the bolding is mine):

The Law of Inertia, also called Newton’s first law, states if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force. I wonder if Newton was talking about the human condition as well as physical objects. Why is it that so many of us, in the midst of all the information about human potential, remain either at rest or in constant motion in the wrong direction?

I’ve struggled against this law most of my life. I’ve found three things that get me in motion: Inspiration, aspiration, and desperation. Inspiration is fickle. It doesn’t last. I keep looking for another fix. It has betrayed me many times in the past but I keep returning like a jilted lover. Desperation has always set me in motion because I was running away from something. As soon as that something stopped chasing me, I stopped running.

It has taken me a long time to learn that aspiration is the only sustainable way to overcome the inertia of my life. Running toward something is a more sustainable strategy than running away from something. It’s also much less tiring. As I approach my 80th birthday, I may be walking instead of running, but I’m moving in the right direction. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

It would seem that desperation would rule a person who is approaching 80. What does an 80-year old aspire to do? Whatever he or she wants. Mama said we can do whatever we set our mind to do. Mama didn’t say we could do whatever we set our mind to do until we’re x years old. Set our mind! Mama was talking about mindset long before Carol Dweck wrote a book about it. However, at age 80 it might be more like a mind re-set. We need to push that button and go back to the default condition when we left the factory. No preconceived ideas about ourselves, others, or the world. No fear. No concern about what others think about us. We’re filled with wonder, curiosity, and a love for adventure. I think it’s still there even at 80.

I’m grateful that MEA has helped me see these later years of my life as an opportunity for personal growth, happiness, and achievement instead of succumbing to the inertia of our culture. I’m enjoying being pulled into these later years by aspiration instead of being pushed by desperation.

It’s fun having a growth spurt at 80!

– Pat

Drifting into and through the retirement years is the default mode for many, perhaps most. No chance of that with Pat. Retirement isn’t on his radar.

But living past 100 is.

I like his chances – if for no other reason than it’s his aspiration.

Does your third age have an aspiration component? Let us know with a comment below.

Susan Rooks says:

July 8, 2021 at 11:45 pm

I NEVER considered retiring, Gary! NEVER. What on earth would I do if I didn’t work?

Then again, I work from home as I have done for about 25 years. I learn from everyone who trusts me to help them with their written content, no matter what it is. They’re all so much smarter in their world than I’ll ever be!

I have a wonderful reason to get up every day. And although I was a lot younger when I started this latest business than Pat Whitty was when he started his, I continue to enjoy every day helping others with their work.

I can’t imagine doing otherwise!