By Joel Malick and Alex Lippert
Let’s examine the word retire.
If we delve into a thesaurus, we will find synonyms such as recede … withdraw … retreat … recall … cease … stop. The word retire carries an underlying connotation of something that’s old, tired, worn out, not as useful as it used to be, even obsolete. Don’t be surprised when you arrive at this major life transition and after a few short months find yourself rudderless afterwork.
In our daily work as financial advisors we noticed that a surprising number of folks retire and end up feeling less useful than they once were. This is not exclusive to non-believers. Granted, having an active faith gives you an important differentiator, but how you live out your faith life is going to look very different than it used to.
We noticed that one critical mistake being made is that retirees are finding all of this out too late. This is something that deserves deep reflection and action well in advance of leaving your work. After observing this time and time again, we felt called to write afterwork so that we could address the root cause of this potential emptiness.
To us, it’s a travesty that one could serve tirelessly throughout their careers (in their vocation or at home raising children and managing a household) and step away from that role to find some level of emptiness where there had been an expectation of glorious “freedom.” The retiree encompasses a lifetime of experience, the most wisdom, time, and presumably, financial resources that they have ever had. This isn’t a time to withdraw. It’s a time to unleash all of these earned resources, leveraging them to make this your greatest season yet and find greater fulfillment in the process.
Set your life in motion by seeking true meaning and fulfillment. Stones from the mountain roll downhill because it’s easy; they let gravity take them where it may. In life’s busyness it’s easy to be the “stone.” Instead, be the mountain. The mountain rises upwards in direct opposition to gravity, pushed by some remarkable force beneath the mountain at its core.
The pursuits of faith, purpose, of deepening your connection with others, a hunger for learning, experiencing the new, rekindling a sense of awe in your life, practicing generosity in its many forms, refocusing your awareness, managing your time as the important commodity that it is, being committed to journaling and personal reflection, and maintaining an active lifestyle—all of these in their own unique way combat the strong societal gravities and unfulfilling humanly distractions that we all face.
These are some of the major disciplines that afterwork examines.
The retirement mirage is there, waving at all of us in the fog of our futures, tempting us to sit in a cushy armchair, disengaged and not forging ahead as God intended us to. Wherever you are in life (even if retirement is in the distant future) there is real hope that this next season can be your most purpose-filled and impactful yet. Who will you be afterwork?
Joel and Alex, Partners at Steadfast Wealth Co. in Colorado Springs, recently released their book: afterwork: An honest discussion about the retirement lie and how to live a future worthy of dreams. For more information on the book visit: theafterwork.net or Amazon.