Retire? No, Reach Higher.
In most circles, it’s almost impossible to talk about getting older without the conversation turning to retirement, and questions of “when, where, and how.” Of course, no one stops to ask why. The “why” is built into what we’ve been taught our final act should look like—the promised pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Retire is what you do when you reach a certain age—stop working, slow down, and take it easy. And if you can’t afford this dream, it’s easy to feel like you’ve been cheated, or you’re a failure.
Quite frankly, retire is a word that should be retired from the Modern Elder lexicon, and instead, I offer this two-word replacement: Reach Higher. This should be the new mantra that defines our Modern Elder years. I understand that there will always be practical issues with planning for the future, but it’s time to choose words that speak to how we want to live our lives in the present.
It doesn’t matter if you want to head across the country in an RV, start a new business, or become a sous-chef. Do all of it or none of it. Slow down or speed up. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we continue to find ways to reach higher, so we wake up each morning with our hearts filled with passion, purpose, and a strong desire to serve others. The fact is, reaching higher is how we know we’re alive.
In what ways can you replace “retire” with “reaching higher?”
