(If you didn’t read part 1 you may want to read it first)
Image by BuhSnarf via Flickryou may want to read it first)
Retirement Lifestyle Design
So now I describe my role in life as designing a retirement lifestyle. I never designed a lifestyle before. I just made due with the lifestyle that came with my other life decisions. I had a job which meant that I had to live within commuting distance of work. This job had a predetermined income that controlled how much I could spend. Finally I had a perception of a society that expected a me to measure up to standards. When all was said and done, I had very little discretion in my life. I wasn’t an individual. I was a cog. I had the illusion of freedom. I could pretend to be the master of my domain but when push came to shove, I was a rat in a maze.
I didn’t even know I had a choice.
I think it is common for people to refuse to see their situations just like I did. They are blind to the real choices and pretend that they have chosen a lifestyle. They may be unsatisfied and unhappy but they see only limited options, principally finding another job that defines them differently.
At this point I leave to Tim Ferris the job of taking the blinders off people in the workplace. I wasn’t open to clear thinking about lifestyle when I was working. I don’t know how to make others see what I was blind to. Right now not having a job and discovering who I really am and how I really want to live is about the most I can manage. There is more to me than my work title but it is all hidden.
Who am I really?
What skills do I possess? What kind of lifestyle would make me happy? What skills do I need to master to make that lifestyle possible? All the questions I should have asked and answered as a twenty year old still wait for me. Am I up for the challenge?
I would say you are definitely up for the challenge Ralph, but obviously it’s in your own hands what you do about it.
I think you get too uptight about your previous employment – forget it, that was another life, look to the future. That’s my opinion for what it’s worth.
Bill
Bill Murney’s last Blog Post ..Falling Behind
[Reply]
Ralph@retirement lifestyle Reply:
October 31st, 2011 at 6:49 am
Bill,
You are probably right but I think it is important to be transparent about my experience. How I got to my current path I hope will encourage other people to look at their own lives and start thinking about what they really want.
Ralph@retirement lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..What is RalphCarlsonBlog, Part 2
[Reply]
I’m with Bill on letting go of your previous employment its perceived impact on your life (style). I think of my career only as a vehicle to get me through life and now into the glorious land of retirement. I’ve since traded in that vehicle for something a little more comfortable…a bicycle. That’s become my ‘lifestyle’.
hansi’s last Blog Post ..Have I Been a Bad Boy?
[Reply]
Ralph@retirement lifestyle Reply:
November 1st, 2011 at 11:39 am
Hansi,
If I hear you right you are telling me to get over it. It’s what I’m doing but I’ll try to lighten up. Don’t think I’m ready for a bike though.
Ralph@retirement lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..On Education
[Reply]
I don’t think that most twenty year olds asked and answered those questions. Don’t waste time regreting the past-it got you to where you are now. Aren’t you in a pretty good place?
[Reply]
Ralph Reply:
November 2nd, 2011 at 6:20 am
Donna,
I get it. I’m whining. I guess getting old has the unavoidable consequence of recognizing all the things you should have done and wondering where you might have ended up. And yes, I am in a pretty good place. Still, the clock isn’t up and I’d like to get the most out of the remaining years.
[Reply]