Actually I want to hear about your top Examples of people who just really it Was just a terrible fit they really Regretted retiring it was just not good Well a couple people in the book come to Mind Um one is a rabbi Naomi Levy Um who um who told me that and she would She gave up her job as a Pulpit Rabbi so That she could do some other things and Then missed it and worked out kind of a Hybrid plan and she said that she told Me a story about a congregant going to Her saying you know I'm having these Issues I'm I'm sort of okay Monday Through Friday I feel all right I'm you Know busy and then on the weekends I Kind of fall apart and she said well Tell me about your weekday routines and Then about your weekends and his weekend Sounded sounded like mine where he's Jittery he Paces he wonders what to do And you know in my case then I always Let me check my email there may be a Column somebody just sent in a great Column idea so Um she she concluded that he was Somebody and that there are many of us Who just need structure and without Structure we're miserable and I think a Lot of people Um just you know belly flop into retire Environment without giving much thought To how they're going to spend that time
And that I think that can be a mistake For people who need routines and I think That the other person who comes to mind Is the woman you just mentioned Nancy Schlossberg who you're right she has Those six classifications of retirees She thinks I'm a continuer that's one of Her classifications yeah well you Continue doing in some form what you've Always done maybe you teach maybe you're A mentor maybe you serve on a board at a You know Um some kind of a maybe maybe you show Up at a high school and talk to students Who work on the newspaper but she said She said this that that in retirement To find happiness Um You need to first of all Have a bit of a plan You need to figure out a way to find Purpose and passion and matter because In our work lives whether you're a Teacher a nurse You're whether you're Digging ditches no matter what you're Doing something and people expect you to Be there and you're making a Contribution and you need to matter to Somebody even in retirement and she said It's okay if that's the dog who needs to Be walked twice a day it's great if it's Your grandchild who needs help with you Know dental surgery or something and Paying the bills or you know going to
Work on the board of a non-profit that You care about but you need you need to Have a purpose and a passion and she has Found people who just didn't have it and She she says also this is great advice Uh retirement is like pre-retirement Plans go awry things happen you need to Embrace ambiguity and roll with the Punches so I think that was all very Good advice and and one last person Comes to mind a woman who worked in the Patent department at a toy company Um Um in in La she was a clerk and she Could not wait for retirement she quit On a Friday they gave her a big party She woke up you know jumping for joy on Saturday Sunday it's like oh my God my My new life is all spread out in front Of me Monday she wakes up with nothing To do She hadn't thought it through and she Couldn't think of anything she wanted to Do and on Friday of her first week of Retirement she called her boss and said I made a big mistake can I come back and She worked four more years uh how old Was she She was Um like 60s I believe when she first Retired it just got literally got it so Wrong that within a week she was back at Work that's right that's right I think People there are a lot of people who you
Know It's not it's not quite what they Thought it was cracked up to be and back To Rabbi Levy she had great advice on That if you have some picture in your Head about what you're gonna do She advises that before you cut the cord You sample the dream whether you take an Extended vacation and see if you really Do want to learn how to fly an airplane Or play the piano Give it some time and make sure that That's going to be Um a Pursuit that that keeps you engaged And gives you and makes you feel like You matter and you've got purpose before You tell your boss hey I'm out of here And you know you might have a better Sense of how you're going to find Happiness in retirement
