The Mind-Set of Retirement

by Tom Damron
(Plano, Texas)

When your retirement becomes inevitable, either from voluntary choosing your date for leaving your life's work or by having that date forced upon you through no fault of your own you face certain decisions you never thought about previously.. Many times factors beyond your control dictate your retirement date. Under either circumstance, when that date arrives, the first emotional action you must take is to have the proper Mind-Set for Retirement.

There are two principles that your Mind-Set must address if you are to achieve a successful and enjoyable retirement.

Those principles are Acceptance and Satisfaction.

Acceptance means you must have a belief in something and that something is an agreement with yourself that you can and will accept what has been dealt you for the future. You can argue that Acceptance may be one of the most difficult things to learn, for it means you must give up the desire to control your life and its outcome. Once you have truly analyzed your Mind-Set, you will learn that acceptance need not take away your strength, but on the contrary, you will have an inner strength you never thought possible.

Satisfaction is the fulfillment of a gratification or desire. Once you have accepted that you will no longer have the desire to control your life as you did in the past, then you have the satisfaction of the gratification you will receive from your retirement years. Those are the years you now control that are guided by your own Mind-Set.

Liken these principles to the diagnosis of a disease. When the doctor gave you the news, you set your mind to take the first step toward acceptance - you accepted the fact that you have a disease, perhaps it's a chronic disease that will always be with you, akin to retirement.

By accepting that fact you will be able to cope with your lifelong struggle. Once you accepted the disease (retirement) you have the satisfaction of willingly accepting the friendship of your peer group and the wisdom they will be able to offer you.

They have already been where you are just coming from and you will find that they suffered as you suffer, and they have felt the desire that you now feel.

You are being offered a way of life that, if you follow it, it will bring you satisfaction through peace of mind that you may never have felt without Acceptance. By your surrender you are now willing and have the desire to receive something that is being offered to you - the happy beginning of a new way of life.

"Sit back and relax and do the things you never got a chance to do." Julie Hebert

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