Obsessed With Retirement
February 19, 2009 – 5:34 pm
Are you obsessed with retirement? I am, or I was. I’m not sure which. I have my days where I think about it all the time. I also like to plan things (three of my top five strengths are Discipline, Focus, and Intellection). Personal finance has been a hobby of mine for so long that I naturally gravitate towards retirement planning, which is essentially the big outstanding goal in this area.
Other things lead me to a place of obsession and focus as well. It could be a bad day at work, or a difficult coworker or boss. I could feel unappreciated or lack challenges. Some days I wish I didn’t have to work ever again, but then I realize that I either need to find more meaningful and enjoyable work.
Here’s where I’m at currently:
- planning is a good thing, but I need to recognize that God is in control and He will ultimately provide for all of my NEEDS (not my wants or desires necessarily)
- delayed gratification is good thing, but so is enjoying life and taking the time to do what is most valuable to you. For me it is spending time with my wife.
- Saving, for retirement or other things, is a way to improve your security and insulate yourself from bad things that happen. I’m trying to balance saving while trying not to insulate myself from God’s will and blessings.
- In many ways I should spend less time planning and more time “doing.” This is where my blogging comes in, as well as other business and teaching/mentoring opportunities come into play. I tend to spend more time learning (reading, planning, preparing) that I never get to the “doing” part of things.
- Although I’d like to not have to work, I don’t think that quitting work is necessarily something I should be striving for. I have mixed feelings on this, but I’m not sure I should ever stop work. I define work as doing something meaningful for others, so I could still “work” and not get paid by my definition. I would also say that people who have a passion for something can usually find a way to make some money doing it, and therefore perhaps I just need to find out what I’m that passionate about. I have ideas, but nothing that is actionable yet….
That’s enough “planning” instead of “doing” for today. I’m going to go do my workout now. 
If you’d like to read more, Canadian Dream wrote a great article on the topic that can be found here.
Image Credit: shawnzlea
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7 Responses to “Obsessed With Retirement”
I enjoy a good workout as well to get my mind off investing and retirement. I kind of think I’ll be doing some type of work forever, hopefully something I enjoy. When I worked at a desk all day for an investment firm I would think about stocks all day long and make myself sick thinking about not having enough. Tough when you have billionaire clients and I’m eating a tuna sandwich.
By Scott @ The Passive Dad on Feb 19, 2009
I also hit the gym to get my mind off things. I would love to retire, but seeing as I’m only 30 that’s probably not cool. I’ll be writing forever, but that’s ok because I love it.
Emily
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By Emily on Feb 20, 2009
Good thoughts in this article! I guess many re-think their “retirement” plans (and their focus in general) in these uncertain times.
Personally I can not imagine to retire. I do what I love to do, which is not “work”, so there is no need to retire – will hopefully be able to keep doing things ’til its time to leave…
Cheers and happy aging to everyone!
By PipeSmoker on Feb 20, 2009
I need to hand things over to God more often. I’m a worrier too.
However, when it comes to retirement, I don’t think I think about it enough. My husband will have retirement from the military in 10 years, but that’s nothing to live off of. Thankfully, we’ll both still be young enough to work, but I need to figure something out. It’s on my to do list.
By Jennifer @ Money Saver 101 on Feb 21, 2009
I always want to retire before starts the job, but my retire is not like doing nothing. My type of retire is building my own business and get the financial freedom without working on someone’s company. That is my type of retire
By Pande on Mar 2, 2009
I really enjoyed this post as I can relate to you. (the author). Ive been thinking and preparing myself for retirement — although I am only 30.
I check myself everyday if I tend to “plan” more than “do” more.
I also believe God is our provider… so discernment is very important when it comes to finances.
Good post!
By Productive Pinoy on Mar 3, 2009