Retirement
Last post was about job, now it’s about retirement.
I asked few of my friends, and they tell me what early retirement is:
- Stop from any professional activity whether it’s paid or not. (by a professional who works pro bono)
- Stop from routine active work / business activity, and relying on passive income.(by a private company employee)
- Stop from productive (any income generating) work. (by an HR officer)
- Having financial security which is enough to make someone work not for paying bills, but for personal satisfaction / personal passion. (by a quality officer)
None of them are wrong. I am not having arguments here on which definition suite my taste on early retirement.
My only question is:
“What Next?”
If we live long enough, there will come a day that we will retire for many reasons.
For full time workers, they spend 1/3rd of their time working. It is more than time spend for family (because we don’t spend time with family in our sleep right or on our commuting time, right?), so their work will define how they see themselves.
For part time workers, of for agile worker, or work from home sides, the achievement in professional capability shapes who they are.
Who Are You?
If I ask someone, “Who are you?”, many people will answer based in their job title / their profession such as “I am a lawyer/doctor/pilot/HR manager/business owner/entrepreneur/”. Some of them will answer based on their role “I am a mom/single parent/faithful husband/dutiful son” etc.
There’s no incorrect respond to answer the question but I believe that what I am can not be defined only by what i do / did, or what roles i play in life / society. It should define who I really am, and I am still having hard times to defining myself out of what I do or what my roles to other people.
So if the time has come to retire,
can We answer the “Who Are You” Question after Retirement?
The worse thing to answer that is by saying “I was Doctor/Pilot/(fillintheblank)” WAS… means you are DEAD inside.
People who defining themselves with roles have easier break on it, because someone can not stop being a mom even after her child’s dead. But how if the roles related to someone who disappointing us in our life?. Ah, save it for another session, I want to focus on identity after retirement.
So I conclude that the best way to prepare retirement (apart from financial stability thingy is) to be able to define ourselves. The end of our professional contribution is not the same with the end of our life. We don’t lose any of our identity just because our activity is changing.
Easier said than done.
I did lose myself when I resign and vacuumed for 1 year to care for my child. And it was hell for anyone nearby. The next unemployed period i had was easier, because I start to define myself not as what I do for living (but still by my role though).
I am closer on my due date now, and might be relocated to another city. I will resigned early (God knows will it be temporary or not), and I need to prepare for it. Hope this time I am able to define myself by what I really am. An upgraded version than my last ‘retirement phase’.
Sitting in my office after a meeting, July 28,2016
Xoxo
Rie
