Face it, retirement is not a great idea, especially when you are 60+. In fact, retirement as we know it today is a relic from a time and a world that have long passed. In the context of our modern age conventional stories about retirement are not only inappropriate but they are counterproductive.

We are subjected daily to messages that pummel our brains with warnings that we should save more if we hope to leap off the economic cliff known as the retirement age. And many of us have been convinced that we want to jump off that cliff earlier – if possible, much earlier.

But do we really want to quit working? Sadly, because so many people are working in jobs, industries, and offices they hate, they have convinced themselves that the answer is the end of their working days (retirement). But the fact remains that they wouldn’t be obsessed with the idea of quitting if they were doing what they wanted with their life in the first place.

Many people think that the answer is to quit working altogether, because they don’t like the working circumstances they find themselves stuck in. This is akin to getting a frontal lobotomy simply because of a headache. Many others want to quit what they are doing now to be able to do something else; they need or want a change but are convinced that they need a mountain of money to make the switch. So they decide to postpone their dreams, assuming that when they finally acquire the required substance, they will have the drive and the desire necessary to follow their dreams.

People in these circumstances – and there are many – should stop to contemplate the psychologically sobering fact that as they drive themselves in a career they despise, they are running on tires with a slow leak. The ride often gets rougher and tougher until they find their aspirations in the ditch and little energy left to a new journey.

The same could be said for those who have a lukewarm approach to their work. Such a tepid approach results in a lack of growth, a lack of incentive and mental application, and compromised energy levels. When this lukewarm approach becomes our status quo, we are well on our way to a life and career of underachievement.

About Peter de Kuster

Peter de Kuster is the founder of Passion Never Retires and The Heroine’s Journey & Hero’s Journey project,  a storyteller which helps professionals to create careers and lives based on whatever story is most integral to their lifes and careers (values, traits, skills and experiences). Peter’s approach combines in-depth storytelling and marketing expertise, and for over 20 years clients have found it effective with a wide range of creative business issues.

Peter is writer of the series The Heroine’s Journey and Hero’s Journey books, he has an MBA in Marketing,  MBA in Financial Economics and graduated at university in Sociology and Communication Sciences.

To contact Peter and book him for a speaking engagement or seminar send him a mail at peterdekuster@hotmail.nl