Recently, I listened to an interview with a successful young entrepreneur. He explained that his ambition in his chosen industry left little room for anything beyond his young family and exercise. It is admirable since many entrepreneurs sacrifice both family and health for success.
I also stumbled upon the musings of a recently retired businessman who spoke about the implications of retirement. He mourned the loss of meaning he once derived from work - the connection with colleagues and the routine that shaped his days. He struggled to fill his now abundant free time. From his writing, it seemed he had few friends, no serious hobbies or interests, and little understanding of how to build a meaningful life outside of work.
I found myself pondering the life choices of the young entrepreneur, given the regret of the retired businessman. It is questionable to choose to focus solely on work for decades—at the expense of your holistic well-being.
Retirement is when you reap what you’ve sown in all aspects of your life. Financially, you will depend on the wealth you’ve accumulated. Your friends will likely be those you nurtured over the years – if you haven’t, you may find yourself alone. The same applies to marriage; that distance may persist if your spouse has built a separate life without you. And if you’ve neglected your health, it may be too late to undo the damage.
At what point do you pivot to incorporate other aspects of well-being into your life? When do you invest in close connections, friends, community, hobbies, purpose, and health? When will you regret not having built those connections?
Many people think they’ll work on these aspects once they retire. But as the retired businessman was discovering, life doesn’t wait.
Besides, we don’t always get to choose when we retire. Ill health or retrenchment can catch us unprepared, causing an enormous emotional toll.
Retirement involves change, loss, and grief. Mourning the loss of your former self, confronting unrealised dreams, accepting the sobering reality of diminished vitality, witnessing friends pass away, and adjusting to a downsized life all come with an emotional reckoning. And this demands resilience.
Achieving balance in all aspects of life during all seasons is not possible. The young entrepreneur is living this reality and making his choices in the face of it. The retired businessman already made his choice and is now living with its consequences - regret.
Perhaps it’s time to consider if and which aspects of your life need attention now.
Equally, remembering that you still have living left to do is worth remembering as you retire. It is not too late.
Ps: Join us at our retirement workshop on 26 March 2025 for more key insights on financial planning, and to determine if you have what it takes to retire well. We’ll cover key strategies, including tax planning, investment choices, and how to make the most of your retirement savings.
Kind regards,
Sunél