Comfortable In Retirement

How long does it take to get comfortable?

How long does it take to get comfortable in retirement?  It did not take me long.  I came home from my last day on the job, ate dinner, went to bed, and woke up the next morning comfortable with what I had done.

I know many people though who struggle with their lives in retirement.  They are just not comfortable being retired.  They don’t know what to do with themselves.  I have a friend who has “retired’ twice already and who is back working full time and does not consider himself retired now.  He is more comfortable not being retired.

I believe from observing retired people since I retired that part of the adjustment toward being comfortable in retirement is to realize that retiring at the right time means you have paid in full.

No one asks to be born, but after we have been born and we reach adulthood the pressure is on us to make our own way.  The pressure is on to provide for our own upkeep.  The pressure is on to raise our children.   The pressure is on to contribute to the well-being of our fellow man.  Etc., etc., etc.  But if we work hard enough, if we live long enough, if we are lucky enough the pressure eases and then we really are retired.  We have paid in full.

I believe there is a difference between being retired and being unemployed.  In fact some people who are retired are very much employed.  Maybe a day or two at a time -- maybe full time.  But they are not employed because they have not paid in full.  You see, when you have paid in full, you are then free to add value with what you do above and beyond what you did to make your own way.  You are free to be a net contributor.  You may contribute a little or a lot.  There is no requirement for a prescribed contribution.  I now realize that after you have retired at the right time you contribute because you want to not because you are required to.

The difference is perspective, and in my thoughts perspective makes the difference.