My husband and I are looking forward to ER in about 20 months. When I mention this to most people in my family, I am surprised by the reaction. They imply our lives will lose all purpose and meaning. I got a serious monologue from BIL about how he could never retire, he loves impacting people's lives thru his work at church and he recently went back to school to geta PhD. I got a warning from my MIL that I better come up with a good hobby to keep me busy, lest I sit in front of the TV all day ("you can't just run all the time")
I understand that some people love what they do for a living and feel like their lives would be diminished if they stopped working. I also understand that we are not all the same.
I have big plans for my retirement. Mostly I plan on living my life on my terms, as my resources allow. I look forward to not being restricted to living my life on the ends of the day and ends of the week. I want to pursue my running and become competitive in my age group again (5k thru 100k). We are going to visit other parts of the country at our own pace, without having to worry if we have enough vacation. We will be able to visit and care for aging parents without feeling torn between work and family. I don't feel like I need to take on an intensive hobby as a replacement for my job just to keep me busy.
I know you have to retire "to" something but do you HAVE to take on a "jobby" to feel like your life is still fulfilling? Will I be asking myself "now what?" a year or 2 into ER?
Is retiring "to" your life (everything you do when not working) enough?
I understand that some people love what they do for a living and feel like their lives would be diminished if they stopped working. I also understand that we are not all the same.
I have big plans for my retirement. Mostly I plan on living my life on my terms, as my resources allow. I look forward to not being restricted to living my life on the ends of the day and ends of the week. I want to pursue my running and become competitive in my age group again (5k thru 100k). We are going to visit other parts of the country at our own pace, without having to worry if we have enough vacation. We will be able to visit and care for aging parents without feeling torn between work and family. I don't feel like I need to take on an intensive hobby as a replacement for my job just to keep me busy.
I know you have to retire "to" something but do you HAVE to take on a "jobby" to feel like your life is still fulfilling? Will I be asking myself "now what?" a year or 2 into ER?
Is retiring "to" your life (everything you do when not working) enough?