Restart, Not Retire
How to convince yourself it’s time to pack it in
Most of us stop ourselves from taking risks because of fear. Fear of failure, fear of consequences, fear of embarrassment, fear of the unknown.
That last one was almost my undoing. Sixteen years ago, I sometimes thought about retirement. After all, I was 55 and the option of giving up my job for a pension was no longer a distant goal. It was quickly becoming a definite possibility.
Reticent about retirement
The trouble was that I wasn’t thrilled about taking the plunge. Sure, when friends and colleagues cheerfully mentioned the possibility of retiring, I chimed in with positive expressions of eagerness: “I can hardly wait” or “Just try and stop me,” I’d say.
But the fact was that my façade of optimism was hiding a roiling sea of doubt. Could I really afford to retire? What would I do? How would I feel without the status and satisfaction of my job?
Instead of facing those fears, I deferred any choices about retirement. It seemed easier to postpone the decision-making process and simply maintain the illusion of a happy and satisfying retirement as something to be achieved someday in the future.
