NEVER RETIRE - Defy Aging by Michael Brickey, Ph.D. Board Certified Psychologist

ACTION TO TAKE

Winston Churchill said "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER Surrender." Paraphrase him by saying NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER retire. If that slogan makes you uneasy, it means you aren't doing what you really love (yet). No matter what your age. Never, never, never, never, retire.

Michael Brickey, Ph.D.

It is easy to assume the good life is retiring and recreating. This was the dream when Social Security was created. But at that time life expectancy was 60 for men and 64 for women. Most people weren't expected to live long enough to collect benefits. Playing golf for the next 50 years would get boring, expensive, and possibly cause repetitive stress injuries.

Retiring is like putting your seats and trays in their upright position for the final descent before landing. You are either participating and contributing or you are dying. Always be engaged in some kind of work and make it work you love. (I define work as doing something that is contributing to making the world a better place-whether you are paid or not.)

A recent survey from Rutgers University and the University of Connecticut finds working Americans agree. While most would like to retire at 65 or younger, only 10% wanted to just rest and recreate. The other 90% said they wanted to continue working, work part-tine, start a new career, start their own business, go to school, or do volunteer work.

This apparently indicates a realistic shift in values from generations that looked forward to retiring, relaxing, and being taken care of to more self-reliant generations that appreciate the value of work in older ages. Part of the difference too is that most jobs these days aren't backbreaking labor or long hours of farm work. If you imagine yourself always doing some kind of work, you now have plenty of company.

Defy Aging Quote:

For too much rest itself becomes a pain.
                                -Homer's The Odyssey

It's only work if there's someplace else you'd rather be.
                                -Chicago Bears coach George Halas
                                      when still coaching in his 80s.

Defy Aging Humor:

The strong young man at the construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of an older workman. After several minutes, the older worker had enough. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" he said. "I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that outbuilding that you won't be able to wheel back." "You're on, old man," the braggart replied. "Let's see what you got." The old man grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles and said, "All right. Get in."

Michael Brickey, Ph.D. is a life coach and a Board Certified psychologist and serves on the medical staff of several hospitals. He is the author of Defy Aging: Develop the Mental and Emotional Vitality to Live Longer, Healthier, and Happier Than You Ever Imagined. Critically acclaimed by Dr. Bernie Siegel, Betty Friedan, Dr. Ronald Klatz, and four past presidents of the American Psychological Association, it is available at many bookstores and through his web site www.DrBrickey.com. He coaches people and organizations all over the country by phone as part of his mission to help people do things they didn't think they could do. He also speaks on Defying Aging. Please E-mail Dr. Brickey at BeautyWalk@DrBrickey.com.