1,500 Weeks
 |
| Pop into practice...even when the schedule is a pain. |
I've noticed recently when we interact with a lot of kids in the coming-of-age stage, the question is around "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Similarly, we tailor our high school and certainly our college/vocational time around honing in on those 1,500 weeks. This isn't to say that you shouldn't spend some due diligence and time both before and during the 1,500 weeks zeroing in on the "what do I want to be" question. But...how much time do we spend on our kids and ourselves at the more meta answers, "I want to be a good person." "I want to take care of others." "I want to travel." "I want to be financially fit." "I want to be physically fit enough to walk with grandkids," etc. 
Go see a lunar
eclipse, even on a
school/work night.
We often spend an undue amount of time in those junior, high school, early twenties years focused on the major that we think we'll be the key to unlocking all of our wildest dreams along the way. Getting to the middle of this life journey, I think I'm realizing that there are other perks one should consider when setting out on the 1,500-week journey. Some jobs, like teaching, give you an incredible amount of time off throughout those 1,500 weeks to focus on passion projects when your mind and body are still young and healthy enough to make it happen. Others, like military service, may give you lots of travel during and lots of post-retirement benefits. 
Do now, so
that you can
later.
Along the way, we've got to have a diversified investment portfolio for the time beyond the financial aspects (which is critically important as well). In other words, when (since you're in your 1,500s, I presume) do you set aside time to focus on your health and wellness...so that you can do some of the retirement goals you say you have? For us, we hope to continue to do hiking and exploration when we're retired. Unless we spend time on staying at a healthy weight, keeping our hearts in good working order, maintaining strength/flexibility/balance along the way...we won't have the ability when we have the time. Similarly, if we don't keep up on the hiking in little bursts now...we likely won't have the inclination or ambition to do so later. 
Seek/create the balance
of the ant AND the
grasshopper now and
later.
During your 1,500 weeks, things like pouring into your spouse and children are critical. The folks over at MidLifeMale.com talk about how presence is a skill...not a personality trait. I think it's a bit of both. I've got a peer counterpart who is in a very similar life age/stage/career as myself. Where he jumps at every travel opportunity with work, I've steered clear of as many as possible since we have had kids. We were talking the other day, and he's further along in his career...but was lamenting about how he sort of blew it with kids. I tried to remind him that we get a new day, new choice every day, and blew it can be very past (or present) tense if you let it. But...he's sort of addicted to the "atta-boys" that have come with his travel commitments...more than he's addicted to his kids and family. I'm far enough along in my career to take care of our family...and our kids have been to all 50 states. The answer is a unique blend and balance right for you...but you have to make it happen. 
Choose your partners
in crime carefully...
every day.
Be thinking about other ways you can invest your time wisely during your 1,500 years. For many, we get almost intertwined with our work and our work selves such that when it comes time to extricate ourselves, we're hollow shadows of who we once were. For instance, I've got a passion for writing. This blog is as much for me as it is for anyone else. The weekly habit of writing keeps the passion alive in the intervening years. Perhaps, since I've kept it a spark for all this time, when I have more time to pour into it... it'll be he long dreamed of book. We've got other friends who have that big goal - hike the Appalachian Trail, visit every MLB ballpark, run a marathon, etc. Don't let your retirement look like the view from an easy chair at a television...you owe it to yourself to make it big and worthwhile. 
The mess,
beautiful or
not is up to you,
choose wisely.
 |
| Go do adventure now... so that you...and they... can and will go later. |
With you in the arena, from ours to yours...Happy Trails!
Call to Action:
- Pick out a couple of things you can do this week that get you and yours closer to the selves that you want to be...after the 1,500 career/work wrap-up.
- 1 - ___________________
- 2 - ___________________
- 3 - ___________________
- Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of being prepared not just in the practical terms for a post-work part of life...but where the richness lives...now and later.
Further Reading, Motivation, and References:
No comments:
Post a Comment