The Value of Having Retirement Role Models

Discovering what type of retirement you would like to have can often be found in the retired role models around you.

3 min read.

I don’t want to spend my time like many retirees do sitting at home on the couch eating snacks and watching tv. I know I wouldn’t last long living like that.

At this point in my life I know myself well.

To be happy I need to set goals and have challenges in my life. I need to find meaningful things to do or I’m going to get bored fast. I need to find new problems to solve, new ways to contribute and interesting things to learn about.

I want to spend the bulk of my time doing things I’m passionate about things that make me happy and give me energy, things that I can play at and feel like a kid again.

That is why I’m always looking out for good retirement role models.

Happy, healthy retirees in their seventies, eighties and nineties who are winning at the game of retirement and enjoying fulfilling lives. People who I want to be like when I reach their age.

My chosen role models give me ideas of the type of person I want to grow into – my future self. They teach me about where I should spend my time, money and energy on the things that will make me happy. They give me ideas about how to stay healthy, what hobbies to pursue and ways to work or volunteer.

This year at the George I found a good role model named Howard.

Howard at age 81 is pretty spry for an old guy. Former university professor, rock climber, marathoner, he has lived a full life but he is far from done yet. He cross country skies in the winter keeping himself in shape for his planned fly fishing adventures around the world.

We are like minded people and his passion for Atlantic Salmon fishing runs deep. Sometimes I wonder if we hook the fish or do they hook us?

He also practices playing the recorder for a hour each day and sometimes performs a duet with his wife who plays the piano on the weekend.

When I look at someone like Howard it feels like I’m looking at my future self in 10 years.

I end up peppering my role models with a lot of questions wanting to learn as much as possible from them. I ask them;

What their needs are and how they are meeting them
What type of retiree they are
If they volunteer and if so where and why
What hobbies and passions they have
What they do to stay healthy
What activities put them into a state of flow.
What makes them happy
What kind of work they do
What keeps their minds sharp
What kind of lifestyle they enjoy
What their purpose(s) is
What tribes they belong to
What things they like to do with their partner

Asking these questions and listening to their answers gives me new ideas about meaningful pursuits that I might want to try in the future.

My ultimate goal is to experience life to the fullest for however long I have left on this earth. I don’t have time for everything so I need to be picky and talking to role models like Howard helps me figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life.

At the end of the day if I could end up doing what Harold does at age 81 I would be pretty happy.