If there is anything permanent in this world, it is “change”. Retirement from work is such an inevitability and one of the most important transitions in the life of all employees. Understandably, it comes with uncertainties and anxieties as it changes the status quo and takes one out of the comfort zone. One has to face it, plan and manage it effectively so that the post-retirement life can remain meaningful, purposeful and enjoyable. With the average life expectancy in India going beyond 70, management of retirement life has become much more important now.
The word “retirement”, for many, rings alarm bells as it is associated with a perceptions of “boredom”, “losing power and authority and thereby respect”, “losing identity”, “health problems”, “feeling neglected”, “finding no meaning in life” and so on. Going from a well-structured life to no structure is indeed challenging. While retirement means life coming full circle for many, for some, it means a new-found freedom and the beginning of a new phase of life. New-found freedom to choose to live the remaining life in all its hues and to indulge in things out of reach all these years due to never-ending professional demands and filial responsibilities. Most of the people live their entire productive life with one single identity attached to their job. For many, work offers meaning and purpose.
With one stroke of retirement, they lose their identity and typically experience what we call it an ‘existential vacuum’, a feeling of nothingness and meaninglessness. Viktor E. Frankl, in his book, Man’s Search For Meaning, says that “people have enough to live by but nothing to live for; they have the means but no meaning”. He also says that “a human being is not one in pursuit of happiness but rather in search of a reason to become happy, last not least, through actualising the potential meaning inherent and dormant in a given situation”. This existential vacuum will lead to boredom, frustration and ultimately lead to losing the will to live.
In such circumstances, finding meaning is vital as it gives reason to live the life and brave through all the difficulties. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, said that “he who has the ‘why’ to live for can bear almost any ‘how’.” We can even say that people are ready to undergo suffering if they see meaning in such suffering and we all must have experienced this in one form or the other for the sake of our family or for any higher purpose. This does not mean that we have to necessarily suffer to experience meaning in life. If the purpose of life for someone after retirement is to write a book or become a life coach or lawyer or motivational trainer, he/she will be able to face any ‘how’ in the process to realise his/her purpose. Mahatma Gandhi said that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Purpose gives meaning, meaning gives direction and direction leads to motivation and fulfilment of the purpose.
The general view of retired persons is that there is nothing worthwhile they can do at this age. Fondly remembering their youthful exuberance and energy, they think that youthfulness is full of potentialities and exciting possibilities, whereas in old age, there is nothing exciting or exhilarating to look for in it. Such thinking leads to hollowness. While it is true that youthfulness is full of potential possibilities, old age, in fact, is full of fantastic realities, realities which were actualised when young and energetic. This change in outlook will prove to be refreshing and empowering. One can seek great solace from this fact and contribute something back to society or do something through which one can find meaning and purpose to live for.
People on the verge of retirement or already retired should realise that they are retiring/retired only from job, not certainly from life. This shift in their outlook about retirement will give a refreshing perspective as a great majority of people cynically view it as the last leg of life. The ultimate freedom of choice lies with us and we can choose to live and find meaning under any conditions. During my college days, I knew a retired man whose mission was to come to the post office at 9 a.m. in the morning and stay there till 4 p.m. in the afternoon to help out people who could not read or write to fill various kinds of forms and seek their silent blessings. He found great meaning in such selfless service and remained happy and purposeful.
Learning is a continuous and enriching process. Though everybody knows about it, very few people keep it as a lifelong proposition and enrich themselves. Books are the best friends for some. Henry Ford said that “anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80”. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. As we grow in age, we normally lose interest in learning and the process of intellectual decay slowly sets in. Continuous learning can be said to be an antidote to cognitive problems generally associated with old age. In order to keep ourselves cognitively young and energetic, let us cultivate the habit of learning on a continuous basis and keep it as a lifelong pursuit to stay young!
Habits prove to be transformational. Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. They are powerful stress busters. Healthy habits, if cultivated consciously and consistently, will remain with us lifelong and enable us to structure our time properly and purposefully to lead a happy and satisfied retired life. Here is a caveat. Staying engaged with any habits will prove to be boring if such engagement is too little and become stressful if it is too much. The key to this is to follow the Goldilocks rule, which advocates the ‘just right” approach — not too easy and not too difficult — to keep us motivated and get us going.
As human behaviour is subjected to certain neural predispositions, we quickly adapt to goodness due to what we call it as “hedonic adaptation”. Our pursuit of happiness should not be a source of unhappiness. Feeling grateful for all our blessings as a daily ritual can be an effective antidote to this neurological phenomenon.
Life consists of different ages, stages and phases. Its progress is inexorably directed towards an inevitable end. Retirement is one such important stage and phase of life. Let us plan it purposefully, embrace it gracefully and move on meaningfully.
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