Reaching The Goal Of Retirement

What Am I Working Toward?

Why do we work? Most of us work primarily to survive. We need money to live. If we didn't work, we would be homeless and starving. But besides the income component, hopefully we also enjoy our jobs and the productivity and accomplishments that go with them. But the reality is that many people do not like their jobs. In fact, I think it's fair to say that most people would rather not work.

I have spent many years in jobs that i did not like. Reasons included dysfunctional environments, not liking or trusting the people that I was working for, and in some cases, I was just not challenged and felt like I was accomplishing little in the grand scheme of life. I didn't like being forced to work with people that I normally would choose not to associate with. I did not enjoy the rigid scheduling. I sometimes felt as though I was caged like an animal or a prisoner.

I did find employment in areas that I found more challenging. But even though I didn't mind going into work each day and I was motivated to accomplish my objectives and proud of many of my accomplishments, I clearly knew that I would rather not be forced to work. I knew that if I had enough savings to permanently retire, I would probably still work at least on a part-time basis. But in my mind there was a colossal difference between working due to necessity versus working by choice.

It is unfortunate to see someone in the position of having minimal savings, a displeasing job and little hope of retiring in the foreseeable future. Others will ultimately retire, but will need to make a substantial downgrade to their standards of living due to an insufficient level of retirement income. Many people have no plan or strategy and just accept these situations. But I am telling you that by taking charge of your personal savings and creating your own investment strategy, retirement becomes a very real and achievable goal. In addition, you can shave years and even decades off your pre-retirement years. And yes, you can do it yourself. No one is more motivated to manage your financial future than you!

In addition to the need to pay my bills and the desire for my family and I to live a comfortable life, I work for another reason. I work to buy time. To me, time is one of the most important aspect of live. to truly do what I want with my time provides my most satisfying moments. As I get older, time continues to go by faster and faster and I know that i have a limited amount of time on earth. Therefore, I want to enjoy as much free time as I can as soon as possible.

Retirement to me means having an abundance of free time. I can choose to work or I can choose not to work. I can watch television all day, sit in the yard or spend time with my family. I can go places or go nowhere. It doesn't matter. What matters is that I am choosing what I want to do and doing it. To me, that is what retirement is all about.

Retirement is going to have a different meaning to each of us, which highlights even further the joys of such a luxury. The vision for retirement is as individualistic as each of us. Some people dread retirement. They identify themselves with their jobs and never want to separate. Clearly some of us want it more than others. You don't have to retire, but wouldn't it be nice to know that you could? Wouldn't you rather work by choice than by necessity?

From the book, Retire Richer And Faster by Robert E. Lawless

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