Standing
in the hospital line I heard a lady at the cashier retort “Why am I getting a
10% discount?” When she was told that the computer had automatically given her
a senior citizen discount because she had just turned 60, I could see her
visibly crest fallen and commented to her partner “At 60, have I become too
old?”
The
magical age of 60 is considered a major milestone. While on the one hand it is
“only another number”, on the other hand it is an age beyond which one is
normally expected to retire and change one’s lifestyle and either stop working
or reach a stage where one is about to superannuate.
Given all the excellent healthcare, most of us who
have a reasonably healthy lifestyle can expect to live up to 85 years of age. Therefore,
the new paradigm would be that 60 years should now now considered middle age. Men
and women who have reached this magical number of 60 have started to counter
stereotypes that surround "old age."
Several
questions need to be answered and many of the answers will lie embedded in the
last three decades of your life. You need to sit down with your partner and do
some serious thinking about your life ahead. Think about the following six
questions and write down your answers / thoughts.
ü If you are
employed and living in a rented home, decide on where you want to live. This
should be your first decision if you have not already made this call.
ü Decide on
what you wish to do next with remaining one third of your life, Remember that
your “retired” life will be almost equal to your working life
ü Decide on
the lifestyle that you want to have post your retirement and agree with your
spouse on the amount of money you need on a monthly basis to lead the lifestyle
you want to lead
ü Decide with
your spouse on whether you want to spend your money on yourself or hoard it to
be left behind for your children. This is important as it will help you to take
a call on the lifestyle that you can afford but may or may not want to lead.
ü Plan your
taxes, your estate and your will and unless you foresee serious issues or have
made a contentious will, share the details of your will with the beneficiaries.
ü Decide on
your exit from this world – do you want to donate your eyes and your organs
after you depart? How do you wish to be cremated or how do you want your last
rites to be handled?
Once you have handled these questions, it is time
to start planning on what to do with your life.
See your later years as a "time to begin a new
chapter"
You have spent 25 years studying and 30 - 35 years
working. Now is the time for you to begin to build your new career and a new
life. Your new career need not be anything like the one you have just ended. It
should be a function of what you have always wanted to do and what you are or
could be passionate about.
Remind yourself of all the difficult times you have
survived the challenges of your just completed career. With all your confidence
and support from your family, you can survive your new challenges too.
Stay active, involved and engaged in new learning
and goals
List out all your goals and look at these goals
every day till you are on track. You have the experience and are secure within
yourself to assess where you stand vis-à-vis your goals.
At each step, ask yourself, "What did I do
today to move closer to my goal?"
View the retirement years as a time to find new
challenges
Determine the small steps to get you to your goal.
When you break it down, it is achievable. Every day take a step to your goal. Your
goal can be as simple as walking 10,000 steps that you can count every day on
your smart phone or one of the many exercise devices to learning a new hobby
such as music or a game. An interesting challenge for people who love to read
is to write a summary of each book in 1000 words. Soon your book summaries may
well become much in demand among your family and friends.
I enjoy writing so I try and write one article for
one of several publications or one chapter of a future book, every day.
Whatever you do, make a challenge out of it. Then say
your goal out loud each time you look at it. Remind yourself, "I can do
it."
Be socially, economically and civically engaged
We have the potential to become a potent social
force in our communities for the betterment of our country by contributing to the
social and economic means in the areas we live in. Become office bearers of your
residents welfare associations, teach at various institutions, become mentors,
support NGO’s. The moment you put your hand up, you will be surprised at how
many people will reach out to seek your counsel.
As seniors, we are respected and if we choose to
provide leadership in civic areas which the young feel as a “”waste of time,”
this would be a win-win for our communities. We need to believe that we have
the ability to influence events and be in control of their outcomes.
Increase your self-reliance
It is important to become self-reliant in all
aspects of life to improve productivity for all older citizens. We are
physically fit, a large network of friends and associates, little or no debt
and have enough financial resources to indulge ourselves and do things where we
had earlier held back spending.
Plug yourself into the digital age that is sweeping
the World and stay connected. This is the first and foremost requirement of
being self-reliant. If you don’t know what is happening in the World or you don’t
know how to communicate in this new Digital World you are starting your senior
years with a huge disadvantage.
Go for your annual medical checkups yourself. Build
a support network with your friends and neighbours. They are your support
system in the days ahead.
In summary, debunk all the myths that you are carrying about your
impending retirement and think about what do you want to accomplish? What is
your goal? Think about it. Visualize yourself doing what makes you happy.
The difference between goals and dreams is your action. So plan, take
the steps, and turn your dream into a goal and your goal into an
accomplishment.
Be the scientist. Be
the subject. Analyze yourself.
Sit back and relax. Enjoy
the next three decades. You are not old at all.
*******************
The author is the founder Chairman of
Guardian Pharmacies and the author of 5 best-selling books, Reboot. Reinvent.
Rewire: Managing Retirement in the 21st Century; The Corner Office; An Eye for
an Eye; The Buck Stops Here - Learnings of a #Startup Entrepreneur and The Buck
Stops Here – My Journey from a Manager to an Entrepreneur.
Twitter: @gargashutosh
Instagram: ashutoshgarg56
Blog: ashutoshgargin.wordpress.com |
ashutoshgarg56.blogspot.com
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