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Top 10 courageous ways to spend your retirement
#travel #inspiration #experience #motivation #growth
There is a whole new kind of life ahead, full of experiences just waiting to happen. Some call it ‘retirement.’ I call it bliss.
Let me tell you a story of walking around one of my favorite cities – Barcelona. A story that inspired me to write about adulthood and retirement. You’ve probably noticed my Cyprus post mentioning how I am looking forward to not having to work anymore, so I can spend my days partying, in the middle of water. Turns out I belong to an extremely rare kind of humans. Most people really have no idea what to do once there is no work left as an option. In fact, my grandma stated how she knew that one day she would not want to travel anywhere close to the sea anymore, so people should let her do it while she can and wants to. I hope this is individual, but either way, it gives us all a great reason to move to a coastal region in youth. Most of Florida has it right.
What really inspired me to write this post? A swing. Yes, you read that correctly. I was walking on a hilltop in Barcelona with a great friend, and suddenly, I noticed – a swing. I said how great it is when you’re a kid – the most fun thing to do is, guess what, to swing. And you can do it all day, every day. And then suddenly you grow too large to sit into one, and that’s the end of the road. There are no parks with swings for adults, full stop. Similarly, when you’re in high school or college, there are endless bunches of cultural exchange or work and travel programs. The moment you graduate and try to apply for one, even though you’re only 22? “Get the f*** out, you ancient piece of s***!!!”
This, my friends, is the fault of andragogy. Or the lack of one. Life keeps teaching you to do certain things, and then suddenly, with no prior warning, that’s it, you are not allowed and/or able to do it any longer. Wow, awesome! This is the reason not only to why most people have no idea what to do when they retire, but most humans have no idea what to do after school, in general. All that they were taught has come to an end, and now they have to start doing something completely dissimilar. Why? Because. Humanity needs no reasons to mess things up.
How many times have you seen young people, 27-ish, rushing to take a loan and buy a mediocre apartment in a city they dislike, so they can commute to work, they (imagine that) hate? And when you invite them to any social occasion, they claim to be “busy” – but that is only a socially acceptable mask for “watching Netflix”. And that’s it, game, or better stated, life over for them. We all know hundreds, if not thousands of young people, adequate to the description. I will not create a top-secret formula to tell you how to run your lives, but I can provide you with input on what to do once retired, or once life stops tossing fun opportunities at you.
1. Travel the world – obviously
If you’ve worked your whole life to buy a mediocre apartment, send kids to college on a loan with a promise of better life (the same one you were lied into) – you really missed the point of living. In this scenario, you would’ve spent most of your young and active years doing things you dislike, or even hate. Or even worse, if you are to live retired for longer than you worked – the boring part is yet to come! Still, there will be enough time to catch up on what you missed (just look at the late-bloomer me for example), as long as you are willing to.
Retirement (any form of not having to work to sustain yourself) is supposed to be fun, not dying of boredom (as most humans believe). If you’ve worked smart, at this time you will have enough funds to go on adventures, one after another. Non-stop. Don’t ask if your family will miss you being away all the time – just think about how much you are (and are you even at all) missing your elderly family members staying apart.
Don’t be like my grandmother! One of her best friends, with barely any funding to survive (I kid you not), goes mountain-hiking frequently. And that woman is over 70 today. What do you think would be preventing you? Other than yourself, of course. No excuses, this blog was not made for people who like to dwell on “reasoning” of why not to do anything.
2. Cruise around the world
This point rolls out of the previous one. Apparently, the first one is made for adventurers, who believe they will stay adventurous at later points in life. This one is for the more sedentary, the ones who prefer just to sit back and relax. Nowadays, cruises in different directions cover most of the world. There are even cruises that take three years and move you around, to over 100 countries, if you can pay $30k a year. So, what’s wrong with that. Don’t tell me you’re planning to not have a source of this kind of money after you retire.
Cruises must be fun, because the voyagers have all the luxury of this world, even people pampering them, and they just have to be present, and enjoy life. What a great thing to do! In fact, I think that, immediately after I retire, I will first treat myself to a three-year long journey around most of the countries (I will have visited by the time, but will gladly go again).
3. Join a cause (and use it to travel around the world)
Around 10 years back, when I started my first job, I wanted to take PTO to go to Africa and help deliver baby rhinos. I’d pay money to volunteer. Unfortunately, little did I know what kind of market I was selling myself into. Not only would I not have the money to pay for a ticket to Africa, but I would spend every waking minute out of the office exhausted, as if coming from a labor camp. That really spoiled my plans.
But now, in a much better world, surrounded by grander opportunities, the first thing I will do, as soon as I don’t need to work to sustain myself anymore, is go around the world to do some charity, especially wildlife conservation and eco-awareness projects! How fun would it be to help deliver a baby rhino, for real!
But don’t listen to me. There are hundreds of causes, local or global, in need of attention. You can feel free to do something for your neighborhood or community. You can join an online community – in the future, many network states will be getting ready to arise. Some of the countries will sink and disappear, and their citizens will require assistance. After all, you can create a cause of your own. The options are endless, and the satisfaction obtained from them is at a higher level of reasoning.
4. Do some beekeeping
Not sure who needs to hear this, but bees are the most important beings on our planet. With their numbers plummeting, the existence of life on Earth is at stake. If you are not allergic, and will have an unreasonable surplus of time to spend on anything, why not help the planet to survive? If this is still not a good enough reason for you, go ask around about just how expensive bee products can turn out to be.
5. Spend time in nature
You don’t feel like working with bees, or at all? Have you heard of tree-huggers? Or have you heard about how fresh and happy humans feel just walking around parks or sitting by lakes? I’m not asking for no reason – in the 21st century AD, countless people have forgotten that spending time in fresh air, near a body of water, around trees and animals, makes living incomparably easier and better. Imagine having all the time of this life to just sit by the water and look into the distance. Priceless!
6. Start your own farm/agricultural project
Ever since the beginning of the latest pandemic, the name of which shall NOT be mentioned, a revolution has led rivers of people into remote work. My first thought when I started to work remotely – I’m moving to a village to do some agriculture! Apart from myself, I know of two families who did the same. Other than us, mentioned above, I’ve heard of an enormous flood of humans running into concrete jungles of different metropoles. Completely opposed to sane reasoning, but again, not here to judge. I wonder where those people intend to spend their retirement and endless hours of nothing to do. Incarcerated in a concrete block of buildings? I pity them in advance.
But, let’s get back to those of us who want to lead a happy life – that’s what this post is about, after all! It’s unbelievable how many people have no idea how to create their own crops. Even the easiest and lowest-maintenance plants, such as walnuts. Apparently, school does not teach us the right things. Learning about how plants can be produced, in which seasons and to which extent – would this not be a great pastime for someone who’s about to retire in a couple of years? It would be for me, most certainly. And after the moment of becoming retired, with the necessary knowledge acquired, starting a farm, to produce fresh food for yourself and the community… What a dream to be manifested!
Don’t forget, the options are endless. You can seek out most of it on different social media, with actual instructions on how and what to do. With decades of working in corporations and start-ups, you would definitely not require more than multiple months to master this skill. If you wish to do this, I will wish you all the best of luck!
7. Spend time with (grand)children
Most grandparents I know don’t do this. Why? I don’t know, I’m not even a parent yet. In the era that we’re living in, there’s been more and more depression and alienation from others. Most people don’t really care to see their relatives, friends, even their posteriors.
My message for the world: DON’T be like them! There is an endless ocean of ideas you can pick up from children, especially the youngest, still highly imaginative family members. It opens the mind for new points of view. And would you not love to be a role model to someone young, who will have an endless time on this Earth, viewed from an elderly perspective? Spend time with your descendants wisely – make every moment count!
8. Mentor somebody
Would you not love to share your knowledge and skills with someone miles and miles behind you? Hope it’s not only me, but this activity really makes me tap into my best self. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a certain trade, a job, a way to make money, family affairs, love life, cooking, sports, music, or whichever aspect of living. Mentoring people is one of the greatest gifts of this life, remember that. It says a lot about you – as only those of us with a long way behind us can be mentors. On the other hand, someone who wants to grow trusts us fully, so much to allow us to guide them. Priceless! Similar to the children, make every single milestone count.
9. Eat a chocolate croissant with some espresso
This headline stayed from the post I worked over to prepare this one. At first, I thought to myself – is it possible to run out of inspiration after only 8/10 steps? And then this gave me inspiration. It is there for a reason, it is destiny, a message from the Universe! Spend your retirement going out to enjoy some espresso and a quaso. Wow! So, I’m simply going to leave it here, to share some inspiration with you. Here’s a nice picture of the combo. This is something I will gladly incorporate into my daily retirement routine.
10. Whatever rocks your boat
I believe I already mentioned the possibilities here are endless. How endless? Let’s just say I completely skipped talking about watching sports, plays, reading, writing, listening to and/or making music, knitting, weaving, and who knows how many regular everyday activities. There’s a reason for that. We all run on different gas, so to say. Is there something you always wanted to do, but never had a chance to? Is there an old love, from childhood days, that got lost in the growing-up process? Is there something you’ve been promising yourself to do? Well, now’s your time to do it!
* DISCLAIMER: Every time is the right time to do something you wish to. I’m trying to boost you guys forward on your paths to fun, adventurous and most of all, courageous times.
Can I say – start a travel blog at a later age? Of course. But, will you want to wait that long? I wouldn’t. Whatever you decide to do in the end, remember to do it with a purpose, and make a difference in the world – at the very least in your circle of family and friends. It’s easy to be a nuisance, but the other side of the medal is much more fulfilling and fun. I hope the ideas provided here stick with you until you’re set to have all the time in this world to do anything you want. And I wish you the best of everything on that adventure.
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