In a country which is
the “youngest” country in the world, where over 700 million of us are under the
age of 30, we have an increasing number of people who are growing old as well.
Just like the baby
boomers in USA, India too has its post-independence children, born after 1947.
The oldest of these children will be in their early to late-sixties in 2015 and
a majority of these pre-independence kids may probably still be working but
thinking of the impending retirement.
Looking back on the
years gone by I am sometimes amazed at the resilience and persistence exhibited
by us mere mortals in our lives. In our effort to make ends meet and prepare for
our future we are often forced to endure thankless and sometimes abusive work
environments for years on end. Stress becomes our new best friend as we attempt
to pay never ending day to day bills while somehow also providing for big
ticket expenses like education, clothes, cars and weddings. We are forced to
delay the pursuit of our own interests and passions because there is either not
enough time or not sufficient free money.
As I pondered over and
debated my own reality, I was curious about my peers' attitudes toward
retirement
I spoke with many
friends, both men and women over 60 who were either already retired or
were just starting to think about it. What I found most shocking was the level
of denial and postponement in thinking about the subject of retirement. While
many people had been diligent about saving and investing, few had considered
the psychological jolt that usually accompanies the end of an active working
career.
My first realisation
was that I would have a much greater degree of freedom under my control. I
don't have to do but I do what I please to do. I have therefore redefined
retirement to mean “Reaching a stage in life when one has the freedom to do
what one wants.” I am reminded of an old poem I read
At ten, we have just fun
At twenty, we are still naughty
At thirty, we think lofty
At forty, we get shifty
At fifty, we confront reality
At, sixty, we seek serenity
Author - Unknown
However in today’s day
and age, the retirement paradigm has changed completely from what we have seen
with our parents and probably our grandparents. While the message may be the
same, the ages have certainly changed over the past three decades.
“Yesterday’s 60 is
today’s 40” said a close friend to me when we were discussing getting older.
“Age is only a number”
said another
So working in our
regular jobs as employees till we are between 60 and 65 is something we can
normally expect to do as per ore terms of employment.
When I started work in
1979 at the age of 22 the retirement age in my company was 52 years and I used
to think that three decades was a long way off. A few years later the
retirement age was raised to 55 and like me, a lot of young managers in the
company complained about how top management was interfering with our careers by
allowing the “oldies” to stay on for another 3 years! Today as I approach 58, I
wonder what it would have been like to have retired when I consider that I am
at the peak of my career.
As we reach the age of
superannuation or retirement, I see so many of friends becoming insecure and
afraid of becoming irrelevant. When it is time to retire, we forget what we
told ourselves. What has changed in the last three decades that we are afraid
to slow down or pace of work or recognize that our minds and bodies are ageing?
Most of us would have
achieved what one set out to at the start of one’s career or we would have
accepted that what one has achieved is all that is possible in the career that
we have chosen. We would have also seen the push coming from our younger colleagues
in the work place to move aside to let the youth brigade move forward faster.
There is no point in
agonizing over the past because there is nothing that we can do about it. I
have always believed in looking ahead with a positive frame of mind.
Yet most people if they
have led a relatively healthy life will, with modern medicine see our life
expectancy increase significantly. Our parents would generally be well into
their eighties and we could expect them to live in to their nineties. Given the
right set of genes, there is no reason why we would not live to at least 90
years of age, maybe more if we have not abused our body too much.
Retirement is not the
end of the world.
It is the beginning of
a new and more fulfilling life without the stresses and strains, the pulls and
pressures we had when we were young. We may have looked forward to retirement
but a fulfilling retirement will not just happen. You have to plan for it and
you have to plan by including the most important person in your life, your
spouse. Unless both of you are in agreement with your plans, prepare for
dissonance in both your lives.
At the same time, I
realized that with ageing parents, the baton for the next generation was
passing to me. The next generation of children in my family was looking up to
me. When I visited their homes, I would be seated first. I would be served
first at dinner and when I spoke they would listen attentively. It was
difficult to handle this contradiction. On the one hand I was beginning to feel
less relevant at work and in the society that I knew and on the other hand I
was being respected more by the next generation.
I have met several
people and discussed with them their challenges and their thoughts as they
faced retirement. I have spoken to people in their thirties and forties as they
agonised over making plans for the retirement of their parents. I have spoken
to spouses who are preparing for a life with a much more inclusive husband post
his retirement and I have spoken to husbands who have had very successful
career and spouses who are wondering how life will be for the two of them now
that both of them have “all the time in the world to spend together”.
Let me draw a parallel to retirement with a setback.
It is a stop in our life and we need to restart with a new direction and
with renewed vigour. Think back to a recent setback or disappointment in your
career or personal life. Think about how you felt. How long did it take for you
to bounce back? Did you formulate an action plan? Did you blame yourself, or
others? Did you eat a big plate of sweets or ice cream to give yourself a
“sugar fix”?
How you handle a setback defines who you are. Let's say there are two
ends of the spectrum - the optimist and the pessimist. You may be at any point
of the spectrum.
ü The optimist experiences a challenge. They see it as a temporary
situation, something that they'll get past. An optimist will often make a plan
for recovery, and take action. An optimist looks to the future.
ü A pessimist is at the opposite end of the spectrum. They see a problem,
and the problem affects every aspect of their life, and no solution to the
problem is in sight. There is usually someone to blame for this problem. Have
you ever tried to help a pessimist solve a problem? They will argue with you
that every possible solution will not work. There is no happy future, all is
hopeless.
A pessimist will say that an optimist is not realistic. Maybe that is
the case. However, perhaps that slightly unrealistic view is what allows the
optimist to meet the challenge head on and succeed.
How can you move along your place on the retirement spectrum to be on
the positive side as you look to reinvent, reboot and rewire your life?
Examine your behaviour pattern. Be honest with yourself.
·
When a challenge
arises, step back and see it for what it is. Look for the opportunity within
the challenge. Sometimes the opportunity is merely the experience gained from
getting through it.
·
Don't let the
problem become your life.
·
Move into action to
resolve the problem immediately. Make a plan and get started.
·
Believe in yourself
and your power.
Cast off society's
belief about aging and retirement. Optimists may
have greater success, health and happiness. Pessimists may experience a
self-fulfilling prophecy of unhappiness and despair. You choose your spot on
the spectrum from where you will make the start to rebooting your life.
In conclusion it is my
belief our new life ahead can be the adventure of a lifetime. It doesn't have
to be a permanent rest. Ask yourself whether your negative beliefs about
retirement are getting in the way of how you really want to live the
"third half" of your life.
*******************
The author is a Political Commentator, an
Angel Investor and Executive Coach. He is an entrepreneur and the founder
Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is 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
