One of the capacities we should build in our lives is the ability to leave anything for the right reasons and at the right time no matter how much we may love and enjoy them. The other side of the coin is for us to be able to plan and prepare for perturbations that changes in life can cause. The core essence of this retirement planning column has been about these two. And today, as I pen the last of this series, I bring out a few takeaways:
We either adapt to/control change or change controls us: ‘Just’ three decades back, I was involved in the business of importing and selling laptops. Many of my customers, from individuals to private and public organisations, were getting laptops for the first time! In the three decades whence, we now have a generation that doesn’t know what life was like without laptops! Laptops and other such equipment are now intricately linked to our lives. No person or organisation on most life pathways, for now, would do well without them. The need to expect and prepare for change, some predictable and others not, some subtle and others profound, is crucial to our overall success in life. Retirement, as earlier defined in this series, will happen to us as long as we live long enough. Planning and preparing for it will enhance our chances of living it well.
Understanding what retirement is not: Retirement is not about ‘doing nothing’. Instead, it is about us leaving and/or changing what we do due to legal, contractual, health and/or other reasons. Whatever we decide to do or not do in retirement is entirely up to us. What is important is that we make deliberate choices that we are happy with and which we are reasonably in control of. Retirement is just one more stage in life for which we should be grateful to have gotten to in the first instance. Everyone else that didn’t get to it died earlier!
Have the right mindset: Having the right mindset on what retirement is and what you may need to do about it, prepares you ‘halfway there’. Having the right mindset makes us comfortable in our skin irrespective of what may be happening around us; It prepares and strengthens us in facing issues no matter how challenging they may be. It makes us understand people and events in ways that we can handle them pragmatically. Understanding the psychological realities of retirement and doing what needs to be done is predicated on having the right mindset.
Have a purpose: Having a purpose is core to success at each life stage and retirement is no exception. Having a purpose helps you sharpen your focus thereby eliminating distractions. Consequently, a person with a purpose is able to commit their resources to the endeavours that they consider most important. In retirement, we need to have a clear purpose that keeps us physically and mentally active, thereby continuing to make life interesting. An important aspect of having a purpose is self-management and continuous self-development.
Take care of your health: We can be lucky to be spectacularly healthy in retirement. Generally speaking, however, our health tends to begin to falter as we age, particularly after fifty. For me, I find it amazing that our body is such a wonderful, effective, efficient, and resilient machine that goes through decades of physical and mental bashing and yet has its ways of rejuvenating itself. But we can push our luck if we fail to do certain basics that will help our body and mind. Being alert to what your body is telling you and regular visits to your health professional for advisory and attention can help you live longer and healthier.
Take care of your finances: Next to your health, another factor to be alert to is the state of your finances. Many people are rather careless about their finances prior to retirement. This is wrong and unwise. A significant part of retirement planning requires that you stay on top of your finances. As a general rule, I always advise that retirees should only financially do what they can afford to do and what they are comfortable doing. If you cannot afford to attend your friend’s daughter’s wedding in Maiduguri from your Calabar retirement abode, please do not go! And don’t feel any guilt about it. Call and talk to your friend and perhaps the daughter. Pray for and wish them well. Advise the young bride on what can help make her marriage and life successful. And if you can afford it, send a token contribution to them.
Two more things to be aware of in managing finance are inflation and debt. As regards inflation, just prepare yourself for it by ensuring that you are earning enough income and generating sufficient cash for your needs. As for debt, simply avoid it. If you have to take on business debt, let it be entirely transactional for which its repayment source is clear and does not put your other assets and resources at risk.
Managing relationships: One of the best things we can have and we should cherish and hold dear are our relationships. Both the scriptures and sciences have told us the benefits of relationships in our lives. We should build and sustain healthy relationships with ourselves and with others. By the time we retire, we are likely to have a narrower but deeper circle of relationships with people that are most important in our lives. We should understand each individual and circle and hold them dear.
As you plan for or begin to live in retirement, I wish you more success in good health. Remember, do what you can do within the bounds of the law; Be of value to yourself and others; Be grateful to your Lord for getting to this stage in life. And it is on this note, I draw the curtain on the Retirement Planning column!
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
