The Importance of A Purpose In Retirement is Grossly Underestimated

I work therefore I am – that’s the mantra of most working folks even if they do not admit it. In modern society, work provides not just a source of income but also, and perhaps more importantly, a sense of worth, purpose, routine, pride, social network, opportunity to learn and for some, social status.

Despite ongoing interest and obsession with retirement, information on the subject mostly focuses on financial preparation and readiness. Not as much is shed on the emotional aspect and even lesser on how to achieve a purposeful living in retirement. This set-up is like gearing for a great take-off from the height of a cliff and plunging into a gorge of nothingness and wilderness. You’re on your own, kiddo…start paddling in the deep end.

Many who have retired share this feeling, as confessed by someone who I shall introduce as X. Despite years of retirement planning, X was caught off-guard by how emotionally tough the transition into retirement was. The far-reaching and deep effect retirement had over many aspects of life such as daily routine, sense of purpose, social interaction, change of identity and being overwhelmed with the freedom and time on hand was underestimated.

What made it worse was that all these changes happened at the same time and literally overnight, rocking the already shaky psychological state. Choice overload can be debilitating and paralysing, as famously illustrated by the jam experiment conducted by psychologists Sheena Iyengar of Columbia University and Mark Lepper of Stanford University. 

Loaded with experience and hindsight, brimming with ideas, filled with energy and having so much time on hand turned against X. Raring to contribute and do, yet no platform to realise it. Humans are creatures of habits after all – what happens repeatedly becomes us or a part of us. Waking up and getting ready for work, quick breakfast, commuting to work, meetings, lunches with colleagues or clients, presentation, problem solving, brain storming sessions, winding down the day before heading home, 5 days a week. Rinse, repeat for 30-40 years. Such is the power of habits. Moving away from a familiar life to a new one takes mental fortitude, adaptability and much resilience

In his bestselling book “The Power of Habit”, Charles Duhigg explained that habits are associated with the basal ganglia part of our brain that governs emotions, patterns and memories. Decisions, on the other hand, are formulated in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and once a habit takes root, it is relegated to be managed as an ‘auto-pilot’ activity. To change or break this habit requires activation of the prefrontal cortex, and this transition is difficult and uncomfortable. And for most of us, work is a ‘keystone habit’ which produces ripple effect causing changes to other parts of our life and routine, making it doubly hard to overcome. 

Arising from the need to do something meaningful while still vivacious, X co-founded a startup seeing it as an opportunity to leverage on and redistribute a lifetime of knowledge, expertise and contacts by doing something impactful. A whirlwind of activities ensued: formulating business strategy, setting up operational process, administration, payroll, recruitment, marketing, attending start-up events, customer acquisition, user understanding, pitching for funding, pitching for exposure, testing and tweaking of business model, face-to-face meetings, Zoom meetings…in short: the full weight of running a company on a small budget and even smaller team took over X’s life. X had gone from wanting to fill up time and finding meaning in retirement to getting back into full grind.

X knows of a similar story of an ex-school mate who had to retire from the army at a relatively young age of 45. Having lived an intense and highly structured army life, he could not cope with the idleness of retirement and started questioning his self worth, even admitting to being a little depressed. After months of soul-searching, he decided to be his own boss and bought into a franchise, thinking it would be a shortcut to entrepreneurship. Within just 4 months, he regretted as instead of having full autonomy like a true business owner, he had paid a big sum of money upfront to be slave to someone else’s (ie franchisor’s) business

Franchise is one of the worst businesses to get into as most offer little leeway in terms of strategy, operations and marketing. The bigger and better established the franchisor, the greater this imbalance. The school mate was unfortunate to have found it out the hard way.

In both instances, they have built up sufficient financial means to set themselves up for a comfortable retirement without needing to earn extra income. Both are prepared as X planned for 10 years prior to retirement and the school mate knew his career would have a hard stop at 45. Despite that, the need for personal fulfilment, staying relevant and building a new identity in retirement led each to take on ventures that were not planned for, primarily to fill the void left by once all-consuming career.

It is easy to disregard emotional readiness when one is buoyed by anticipation in the run-up to retirement. This anticipation gives way to liberation when one finally hits retirement, bringing with it a sense of jubilation and relief. Depending on one’s affiliation to work life, sense of identity, personal outlook and emotional readiness, this phase may quickly lead to disenchantment, restlessness and boredom, causing  some to take on unplanned new ventures. This is especially so for those who retire early given their physical and mental fitness. 

Reframing one’s mindset is important to ensure a smooth transition into retirement. Beyond travel, hobby and new pursuits, it is useful to have a broad overview on how the hours in a day will be like, how each day will pan out into a week, the way each week will unfold into a month and how each month will progress into a year. For going on vacations, visiting family and friends, planting a herb garden, golfing or refurbishing a house can only take so long. Once these are accomplished, the time still needs to be meaningfully filled.

More and more people in retirement are seeking some form of work, especially those retiring younger, thanks to the F.I.R.E movement. Some work to fund the finer things in life, others because it is rewarding or to avoid boredom, yet others to maintain a vibrant social network for emotional support, some work to to learn new skills and then there are those who need to work to supplement daily expenses.

Retirement is more than just stopping work. It is about finding a new sense of purpose, building a new routine, new lifestyle and re-defining oneself – who do you want to be and how do you want to spend the rest of your life? It is a time to reinvent and transform oneself to be a better person, for a better lifestyle. It is not easy knowing what you want in retirement, but knowing what you do not want helps enormously to filter out unsuitable undertakings that run counter to your character or wish.

Back to the story of X, who withdrew from the startup due to the ailing health of a family member living overseas that needed attention and care. When the family situation stabilised months later, the bug of doing something purposeful surfaced again. Coming from the startup experience and knowing full well what to avoid, a new decision was reached: to be a solopreneur with a non-location based lifestyle business that accommodates freedom and flexibility, while still drawing on personal knowledge and experience to make an impact, though a much smaller one. 

As it turns out, it is the perfect solution. I should know, for I am X.

_________________________

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose”  ~ Robert Byrne

_________________________

Live purposefully,

Savvy Maverick