As hard as some have tried to change them, some things will always stay the same.
One of many who has tried renaming the concept of retirement is Prudy Gourguechon, an American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. “As long as we keep using the word retirement or any derivative such as ‘the new retirement’, that whiff of withdrawal, of closure, of endings will linger.”
She’s right.
Not exactly the reward signifying the gratification you delayed so intentionally throughout your entire career. The problem is that retirement and everything connected to it has become so entrenched in our society that a redefinition or rebranding would probably be as successful as “New Coke.”
Even financial Independence, retire early (FIRE), financial freedom, freedom sound more like a perpetual 4th of July celebration, fire-works and all, than doing something different.
In 1889, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck invented the idea of retirement, establishing the concept that we continue to uphold. The nature of work and lifespan have changed significantly since 1889 which again alludes to Why Retirement Is a Flawed Concept.
When I decided to do something different, I quit my job not really knowing what different was going to be. It’s much easier to let go of something essential to you if you have something equally engaging and rewarding ahead. It took time to figure out what different was going to look like because I hadn’t ever thought about it. The hardest part was not equating it to what I just left.
Doing something different elicits different milestones, different people and different rewards. Your sense of worth and purpose are upheld by having an impact, making a contribution and being connected. Different people experience this in very different ways.
The financial vehicles to get us to this point aren’t exactly enticing either given they were named after sections of the IRS code. This is what I picture when the retirement plan 401(k) and all its derivatives were bestowed a name.
An attorney posted this picture highlighting a litigation issue that showed up in my LinkedIn feed. I guarantee it’s AI generated. You get better at finding the nuances and subtleties.
If the naming conventions for retirement and all its financial saving-investment vehicles had been created in the modern-day era, they would have much better names that people would remember and want to contribute to. While the naming conventions (sponsors) of the college bowl games may be too fantastical (like Crypto) where Iowa State beat Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl and Nebraska beat Boston College in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. It makes for remarkable conversation and personal affinity. My brothers and I had a great LOL via txt remembering our dog’s insatiable appetite for Pop-Tarts.
More would be excited to learn about and contribute to a plan that will source future income if it were called something like the Adventure plan where you need some venture “capital” to fund it, or a Legend or Epic plan. It sounds far more appealing and relatable than a 401(k) that doesn’t even sound real.
President Jimmy Carter signed The Revenue Act of 1978 creating the foundation for the 401(k). Evolution and history of the 401(k) | Guideline He left office at the age of 56 and then went on to create another entire life of giving back living to 100. He redefined what doing something different can be.
Everyone is going to quit at some point in their life. Quit an activity, quit a job, quit a distinguished career, quit accumulating, quit breathing. However, only one of these is final. In all but one, you find something different to do that’s important. You don’t entirely quit “working.” Instead, you work on something better.
Instead of working a high-demanding job or schedule, you become more selective and work on projects that excite you.
Instead of working to get to the next level or scale, you work on things most important to you.
Instead of working to escape, you work on things that make you want to stay doing them.
Instead of working for more money, you work to give back.
Instead of working on your next presentation you work on your golf swing, in your garden, on a puzzle or a painting.
You have to allow yourself to venture into your own uncharted territory to think about the possibilities beyond what you are doing now. There is an abundance of opportunity to do something different in our modern world. It will take time as well as trial and error. But as your next endeavor evolves, the milestones become clearer, the experience and people become more meaningful, and the rewards show up in places you never expected.
There will always be retirement but it’s up to you how to design and eventually live it.
“Once you’ve succeeded financially, you’ve only just begun to succeed personally.” – Josh Brown
Your guide to the Do Something Different Plans
Featured Image – Photographer Cary Wauters’ hometown