Something has changed.
Many people thought they would be a lot closer to being able to retire by now. But for many in their 50s and 60s, retirement isn’t anywhere near.
In fact, there are a lot of people who will be waiting quite a while longer before they are able to retire.
If you’re waiting, consider the difference between waiting in line at Disney World or waiting in line at the DVM. Both involve waiting, but the sense of anticipation couldn’t be more opposite.
One involves delight. The other involves dread.
What is your attitude towards your work? Here are a few possibilities to consider:
“I 'hate' to work”
People that are lazy hate their work. But so do people working in really lousy conditions. Or people who work for abusive bosses. So whether you hate your work because you are lazy or because you work in lousy conditions, the message is the same – it’s time for a change.
“I 'have' to work”
This could be most of us, if you’re not independently wealthy. So, whether you love your work, hate your work or fall somewhere in between. You’ve got to work.
“I used to work”
That’s about all a person who is retired from a “have to” job. Most of the time, many are glad that phase of life is behind them.
“I ‘get’ to work”
If you can say this you are truly blessed. You love your work. You feel a sense of privilege to be able to do what you do where you do it and for whom you do it and with whom you do it.
Sometimes loving what you do just happens. You stumble across a job that is so delightful, so meaningful and so rewarding that you can’t wait to get there each day to do it. That’s pretty rare.
Most of the time loving what you do is what you do ‘to’ the job. You transform your work, not the other way around. You bring an attitude of gratitude to your work, transforming it and those around you. You work on your work…and it works.
“I 'did' my work”
This is what a person who has retired from a “get to work” job says. The mission is finished and you can lay your tools down with a deep sense of accomplishment, knowing that you have finished a job well done. You were a blessing to yourself, to those for whom your work provided an income, to your co-workers and to the ultimate consumers of your work.
Yes, our unique economic circumstances will require lots of us to work a lot longer than we might have imagined.
How you experience that extra time on the job…is largely up to you.
