Introducing Your Retirement Vehicle
Like it or Not....This is What You Get
The Real question is: Can You Change a Tire on the Road?
This drawing is of course, just a conceptualization of the retirement journey. However, the word retirement is, in itself, terribly confusing to most people I know who are contemplating it.
Retire is a word that dates back to the 16th century and meant then "withdraw from battle". We borrowed it somewhere back around the time Social Security was "invented" in the 1930s. You had about 15-20 workers for every person who would receive benefits. Money was about the only issue - would there be enough to stay out of debtors prison after a lifetime of hard work.
Then WWII came along and the unprecedented prosperity of the next 60 years. Life expectancy rose and expectations with it. You know the story - so now most people can say they just want to quit work and take a trip to get away. If not a trip then abundant leisure at home.
Those who were too sick to take advantage of this social prosperity were taken care of by families or "nursing homes". They "withdrew" in the original meaning of the word. Many would say they became invisible. But this isn't you. May it never be.
I'm assuming that you are now over age 50 and being exceptionally grateful that you can look forward to a long life well lived. It should be easy... right? You have survived and thrived, and it should continue for as long as it has taken to get this far up the mountain. Maybe another 30-40 years. And we can deal with problems as they come up, so why worry?
I Hope You are Right!
However, the best way to engineer the future is to plan for it with the right expectations around the risks involved. The drawing is a way to look at your life every year and reflect on how to make next year even better.
Look at the drawing for a moment and imagine that the two tires on the back of the car are RELATIONSHIPS AND HEALTH. The two front ones are: TIME CONTROL AND RESOURCES.
You steer with the front, and without the back ones there's not much to get you moving or have momentum.
You will be going down the road sometime, following the Map and one (or more) of the tires will have a puncture. You will hit a pothole. And you will have to change the tire to stay on the journey. I call this "Re---Tire". It means you have the resilience to change whatever is in that area of disfunction. You may be able to get help. There are many who will do that - for a price. Perhaps some friends will assist - or the coaching spare tire.
Some of the changes will be visible and others less so. Changing yourself is key. But you will have to RE...Tire, whatever that means to you and your passengers.
Otherwise you will have a less pleasant journey.
What Can I Do About This?
Here is a good way - there are many ways but I like this one the best. Thank about the car before you began the journey. You had to pack for the trip and you can't take everything. You separate and leave some things behind because you know there will be a better way to do it along the way. You just don't know where. Nonetheless, you pack your bags with the important stuff, knowing you will be unpacking and repacking at various stops.
Take some time and look here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Book%3A+Repacking+Your+Bags+-+leider&i=stripbooks&crid=1CUHCM2R4T5U&sprefix=book+repacking+your+bags+-+leider%2Cstripbooks%2C136&ref=nb_sb_noss
It's very inexpensive, but full of wisdom. The author is Dick Leider, and if you look through his Amazon Site you will find many of his books that help with the retirement journey. One I like in particular is Life Reimagined. Have fun with books and decide which ones you want to take with you on the journey.
Lastly, put me in your back tire. Call for a bunch of free stuff to get your vehicle outfitted for the rough spots. It can look much more capable than my poor sedan drawn with help from a granddaughter. Why not draw your own?
Happy Days Ahead
Joe Grant, MBA
Certified Retirement Coach
Contact me for a Free 45 minute Consultation at https://yourvantagepoints.com