Retirement ..... A Great Place to Reinvent Yourself! By Ron Salandro

A Beautiful Place to Retire!

     This unique idea came to me the other day after I met with a couple old friends I haven’t talked with in awhile.  Whoops …. I didn't mean they were old …. I meant that I have known them for a long time!  There, I feel better .... that I cleared up that little piece of information.  Okay, to my point, we where reminiscing about people, places, and things we had experienced, and as we talked I couldn't help to think how the years had changed things.  In my case, I felt somehow freed from any past expectation I had consciously or subconsciously put on myself.   Magically, the bonds of my self imposed exile from people I interacted with regularly, were lifted.  So, for the last several days, I have been trying to understand the reasons.  Sure, time changes everything …. "Time heals all wounds" …. "It's the first day of the rest of your life" …. I said and heard all those cliches.  But no, there had to be something more, it couldn't just be that simple.  Whenever I start to analyze any of my patterns or behavioral changes I have a need to fully investigate them.  The easiest way for me to do that is to look at history, or sports, or maybe even both to make analogies, because I believe that there are really no new ideas, just new situations, with which certain ideas align.  Examples, history repeats, and in sports there are cycles of winning and losing.  The problems with both of these phenomena is that most often we are too busy to observe, savor, and accept that they are real.  There is a legitimate reason for this …. It's called life …. Yep …. Life with the accompanying responsibilities, such as work, family, and basically anything else that affect daily living, and take up all of our time.  Sure we try to set aside ME TIME, but come on .... that just doesn't work!  But when we retire .... what do you know .... ME TIME .... is all the time.

     So here's my take .... If we use the analogies from history and sports, we begin to understand, that history repeats, and is a great teacher .... if we just had enough time to pay attention.  The writing on the wall is clear, no country, government, or individual leader, is greater than the sum of the whole. Therefore, it's important to realize that wether we are engaged in our job, or retired, we owe it to ourselves to take a breath, sit back, and appreciate who we are.  Just like those sports franchises that have not seen success on a consistent basis, and to not stop trying to improve.  It's imparative that they do all they can with each approaching new season, to put the best product they can on the field .... because just maybe this will be their year.  And as people that may have had some done time, realize that because of changes they have made in their life's, this could be the year that they turn it all around.  They learn from past mistakes .... just like history teaches us .... or like the sports franchise that doesn't stop trying.  Use these examples to grow and learn .... but most importantly forgive ourselves .... because this could be .... our year to reinvent ourselves!