Reinvention in Retirement

 

 

If you are getting ready to retire, you need to understand that retirement necessitates reinvention of yourself.

When does your re-invention start? When you start to think about retirement.

Retirement is reinvention. Let’s talk about the steps when reinvention starts.

 

Steps to Retirement Reinvention

1. Reinvention never stops

Now that you are ready to retire, just understand that reinvention only stops when retirement stops. That’s right; you must continue reinventing yourself through your slow- and no-go years. Reinvention never stops during retirement.

Just as soon as you consider retirement, start thinking reinvention.

2. Start over from scratch

Who cares if you were a doctor in your past life? What are you now? Start from scratch. Start from zero and build yourself back up. Start now!

3. Find Guidance

I like to find guidance in a book. Read 200 books, and you will find serendipity. If you do nothing else every day than read a book, at least a few minutes of reading hasn’t been wasted during your busy day.

Find a mentor. If you have the time, find someone to teach you how to move. Next, how to breathe. If you don’t have time to focus on your physical or mental self, find a different kind of mentor who can help you chase down your passions.

Or better yet, just read 200 books. Which book should you start with? Yes. Once you have read 200 books, you will know which one you should have started with.

Finally, just live a day in your moccasins and figure out what sparks joy. Do more of that and understand that it is a metaphor for your identity. What you enjoy doing sings to your heart and tells you what you want.

4. Find your Passion

If you don’t know your passion, you will find it along the way. Reinvent yourself first and every day and passion will follow. Start with your body, then your mind. Whatever you decide to do, do it with love, and passion will follow.

5. Reinvention takes time

Some people quit retirement in the first year. Some quit in years 2-4, but it really takes five years to reinvent yourself in retirement.

In year one, you just do (and read) everything you can. It feels like a slow-motion wreck.

Next, year two is better. You know who you need to network with. You do the right things just about every day. You discover that you lose about half your old friends and only stay friends with about half the people you meet. That’s ok; reinvention means weeding out people who no longer bring joy into your life.

Do what you love, and success is natural.

6. It takes two years to understand the rules of the game

Now that you are two years into retirement, you know the monopoly board of retirement. The next step is to understand the game like a chess player. Retirement is not checkers or monopoly. Its not the Game of Life.

Years 3-5 move from making retirement to having a good retirement to having a wealthy retirement.

Sometimes you get frustrated with the path and decide to reinvent your retirement. That’s fine too. It just takes five years.

7. Money is a good measuring stick but not enough

You need to have your money last in retirement. We are now talking about more.

Happiness is just a positive perception from our brain. Some days you will be unhappy. Our brain is a tool we use. It’s not who we are. ~James Altucher

Neither money nor happiness will make retirement great. Know what is enough.

8. Break Something

You will always be going too fast or too slow. You might as well break something by going too fast in retirement. But not a hip.

9. When can you say, ”I’m Retired”

Yesterday.

10. When can you retire?

Today.

If you have the money figured out, you are actually already retired today. If you keep working your day job, it is either because you can’t give it up or you haven’t figured out what to do in retirement. That’s why you need to reinvent yourself. You can retire today if you can afford it, both monetarily, but more importantly, who are you?

Now is the time to start scoping out retirement. Seriously, get 200 books and figure out what you like to read. Do more of that.

11. Will I enjoy Retirement Reinvention?

You will know by year 3.

12. By year 5, you will be a wealthy retiree

13. What should I do?

Whatever you want! Read 200 books and tell me if you haven’t figured it out by then.

14. Fail

“It’s ok to get disillusioned. That’s what failure is about. Success is better than failure but the biggest lessons are found in failure.” ~James Altecher

There is no rush. If you are lucky, you will reinvent yourself many times in retirement.

Reinvent yourself every day and live a life of stories.

15. Death

Don’t think about the last step of your life when you are still at the first step. Retirement is the first step. Despite childhood, schooling, med school, and residency, and attending, you are born anew when you retire. Truly it is reinvention. Don’t stop. Don’t think about where you will wind up when you are just taking your first retirement steps.

16. Family

Chose reinvention over family. Freedom over people-pleasing. Just because it is your first retirement step doesn’t mean it might not be your last. How many years of your life did you promise your family? How long do you need to follow the programming you got as a child?

17. a Child

Remember, you learn how to do it their way, but you need to figure out how to do it your way. If emotional immaturity is present in your family of origin, assume your inner child needs re-parenting. Just as your parents did the best they knew then and would have done better if they knew how, now that you know how to do better, please do. Take care of yourself and figure out what your inner child needs. It is never too late.

18. What if you lose all your friends during retirement reinvention?

What friends?

19. What if I’m not ready to accept myself and be kind and considerate?

Read this post again in two years.

20. I can’t read 200 books. What should I do?

Give up.

21. What if I’m too old to reinvent myself?

Health is not an excuse. Reinvention stimulates dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and everything else you need to feel better. How can you not reinvent yourself?

Put your health first. First. Work on your health. Then your mind. There is no time in your life that you would not benefit from this advice.

22. What if I still feel betrayed or resentful?

If you were betrayed, good for you. You learned the lesson you needed to learn. It is time to move on. Half of the problem was you. Figure that out and move on.

23. What if I can’t wait five years?

Still, start today. There is no day like today to decide to retire if you can afford to.

24. What if I can’t forget that I’m a doctor in my past life?

See number 2.

25. Will you help me retire?

You just read this blog.