Very rarely, yes. Most often, no. So, why do we pursue this as a perceived worthy goal?
“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes
“The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” -Abe Lemons
“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.” -Bill Waterson
The problems:
OUR HEALTH – In retirement, sedentary lifestyles abound. They are much more likely, contradictory to opinion. We think since we have more time, we’ll be more active. The research says otherwise. With less active lifestyles, retirees have higher rates of illness, disease, and depression (holding age constant).
OUR RELATIONSHIPS – We are here to connect, to socialize, to share, to love. This is just tougher in retirement. It takes more effort. The structure of “work” has this built in social interaction. We often take it for granted, until it’s gone.
OUR PURPOSE – Most of us crave meaning and contribution. We can find it in other ways, yes. But again, it takes more proactive effort. Losing one’s purpose can be like a ship out to sea without a rudder, floating aimlessly in the vast seas. This heightens fear, worry, and anxiety.
OUR WEALTH – This is the obvious one. Early retirement is less years to accumulate funds and theoretically, more years of “non-income-earning” life to fund. Unless, your health deteriorates as discussed above. But, we digress.
No one says it can’t work or we shouldn’t try it. It’s that the odds are stacked against it being a pleasant experience. If it is to work, then hobbies and activities must be sufficient to fill the time.
It’s smart to plan for the possibility of retirement. The problem is when we make early retirement an ultimatum.
Create the life you want now. Would you retire if you were doing the work you love? The work, you believe, that you were put on Earth to do.
