2026 February 24 Retirement thoughts

This week I want to talk about some thoughts and considerations about retirement. This has nothing to do with money or financial information — that's another huge topic in itself. This is more of an introduction and overview of a less-discussed aspect of becoming retired: namely, that suddenly you don't really have to do much of anything.

For perhaps the first time in a very long time, you are totally responsible for your own self-motivation. Unless you actively plan for it, many — or even most — of your daily commitments just kind of disappear. That sounds great, and it can be. But it also means that if you aren't proactive about it, you'll find yourself doing a whole lot of nothing.

I haven't had to worry about that personally, since I'm now working full-time on the podcast. But people I know, and recently two public writers I follow, have all mentioned the same quandary — not really knowing what to do with their time. Interestingly, of the four individuals who come to mind, all four mentioned that their spouses don't have the same issue and that their days are quite full.

So it's not a question of financial means or location. It's primarily an attitude and approach challenge. This is part of what we talk about here at 7EveryMinute, but it's easy to not notice how envisioning your future and reimagining your life can really provide the guidance and motivation to keep you moving forward — and not just coast to a stop.

When you think about retirement in general, most people think about all the free time and all the opportunities they'll have. But they don't think through the next step: why, how, and especially when they'll actually do all the things they imagine. When you're thinking into the future without a clear vision, it's easy to come up with many things you could or perhaps should do. But if those things aren't aligned with your own life passions, when the time actually arrives and you find yourself with the freedom to pursue other interests, you may suddenly realize that those abstract desires really weren't that important to you at all.

It's a big topic, and we'll come back to it in far more depth on an ongoing basis. But I wanted to bring it up now because, without any prompting, I suddenly found a number of people — some I know personally, some I follow through their writing — all talking about exactly the same problem. And honestly, framing it as simply "not knowing what to do" kind of misses the point of the underlying reasons for those feelings.

I think for many people, they knew what they did not want to do in retirement. They didn't want to get up at 5:30 in the morning. They didn't want to get involved in petty office politics. They didn't want to be pressured by arbitrary rules or deadlines. But they never seriously thought about what they did want to do instead. And they often didn't truly weigh the benefits they were getting from working — the social interaction, exposure to other ideas and viewpoints, physical activity, and so much more.

Like I said, this is just a quick overview and a glimpse of what's to come. Because on the other side, there are also many people who are totally engaged in their retirement lives — busy, or even busier than when they were working. Some have social circles, regular activities, learning goals, community service, and so much more. Not surprisingly, many of them had been thinking specifically about what they wanted their retirement to look like. Or in some cases, after unexpected life changes, once they were already retired, they realized it was up to them to reshape their future in a way that made life meaningful to them.

So as you can see, there's much to talk about, and I hope to bring some of the people I know on as guests so we can discuss both sides of the story. It's also really important to realize there is no right or wrong way, and no one-size-fits-all approach to this phase of life. In Western society we tend to emphasize actions and goals, and if that's you, that's great. But there are many ways to be content, and many ways to contribute to the world. Just being a peaceful, older adult who always shares a smile and a kind word is still contributing to the goodness of life. This isn't a competition for who can do the most in retirement — the goal is to continue living life in alignment with who you are and who you want to be.

No homework for tonight. I thought about it, and there are plenty of things I could suggest writing down or doing. But right now, I think the best use of our time is just letting our minds relax.

Thanks so much for joining me. Remember, one of the best ways to care for yourself is to care for others. We have links at UKR7.com to help the people of Ukraine, and WCK.org — World Central Kitchen — helps in disaster areas throughout the world. But there are also many local charities always looking for help, and even a simple smile can change someone's day in ways you can't even imagine.

As always, thanks for stopping by. If you found something interesting or useful, please pass it along, subscribe, and hit that like button. If not, please drop me a comment about what you'd like to hear more about. Have a great week — and remember to live the life that you dream of, because that's the path to contentment. Love and encouragement to everyone. See you next week on 7EveryMinute and 7EveryMinute.com.