I quit my job about 2 months ago to prep for the World Race.
I like to jokingly say that I’ve retired. When I was still working, I’d snooze to the last possible second. My girlfriend helped me get up in the morning to go to work when I didn’t feel like it. One morning she told me about her retirement countdown. And the dreadfulness of going to work was revived by laughs of… we’re one day closer to retirement!! Yes, that’s when the whole joke started.
Okay all jokes aside. At its core, I think retirement means to be financially free to do whatever you want. Travel the world, take care of your family, volunteer, start your own business, fill in blank. Isn’t this what the American dream is? The constant hustle so we can live the good life, be free to do things that make us happy, feel valued and accomplished?
I must admit… I totally overcommitted myself to work. I’ve always made it a point to be miss independent. I wanted to be strong so that it would cover up how I really felt on the inside. When I was growing up, I told myself that I could get away with my parents if I got good grades. When I thought the world was ending after my first breakup, I said I’d never let a guy hurt me like that again. When people thought I wasn’t going to be successful, I said I’d show them.
And there I was. Successful but yet not really happy. Independent but yet insecure.
I started out wanting to tell you that retirement should be more than just a countdown to freedom. But in writing to you, I realized there was something much deeper than that. I’m learning that being true to yourself is richer than being independent.
Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold ~Proverbs 3:13-14.
