Imagine retirement without pressure

By KENT S. COLLINS

The great joy of retirement isn't the freedom from selfish bosses and unruly employees. It isn't the freedom from rush-hour traffic and work clothes, from chores you don't like and people you don't care about.

The great joy of retirement is the freedom from the worry of deadlines, the expectations of clients and the demands on performance.

The work ethic so revered in our history and culture has a dark side. The work ethic dictates that you do your best. But it also leads to doing what others in your work environment think is best. Bosses and employees, customers and suppliers all expect you to do something to benefit them. And when you don't, they pressure you.

Imagine being done with that. Imagine retirement.

A fellow from Knoxville, Tenn., claimed not long ago that he has had to adjust his reaction to the telephone ringing. When it rang in his office, it was often to announce some new expectation of him or some expectation not yet met by him. When his company merged, the telephone ringing seemed to get louder. When sales were down, the telephone ringing was more shrill. When a project was overdue, the telephone rang more often.

Imagine retirement.

Now the telephone ring at home is a welcome interruption in the quiet of home. The ringing may even bring social contact or a friendly message. Still, the retiree claims, the ringing sometimes sets off certain chemicals in his body, before he snaps back to remembering he is retired.

For retirees who claim to miss the intensity of the workplace, there is the unspoken notion: Maybe the intensity of deadline pressures and expectations pending was exhilarating. But maybe the intensity was also unhealthy to body and/or mind and/or spirit. Another retired fellow said deadlines were like someone pulling hard on a chain wrapped around his neck.

As you grow older toward the golden years, consider the change in life isn't what you do with the freedom of retirement, but rather how you approach what you do.

Los Angeles Times Syndicate

Copyright 2000
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.