To retire is to end something. It does not necessarily mean we have completed that something, or that something is over. We retire at the end of the day to go to sleep, but the day is not over; we fully expect to rise again the next day and begin again. We sleep because we are tired, but we hope to be energized the next day. Many people look forward to retirement from their work so that they might do nothing ever again.
But if you took that approach with sleeping, I bet you’d stay awake.
I dislike the word “retirement.” The AARP recently dropped âretirementâ from its acronym (in fact, it’s not an acronym at all, but is now on echoic of a tiny dog barking “arp! arp!” to match their new mascot, a Malt-York-Shitz-Poo-Terrier with fleas). This is the 21st century and the concept of retirement needs a major facelift–I call it entering the âRefirement Zoneâ.
As host of the radio talk show âBoomers Rockâ it is my passion, my mission and my zest for all things fun that drives me to build our social collective, keeping us boomers active and socially integrated and on top of our games.
Once you enter the âRefirement Zoneâ it is all about igniting your life, finding that âthingâ that brings joy, keeps you active, and connects you to friends. It’s learning from each other and loving our lives.
Igniting your life is not about looking back; it is about living in the moment and building a successful future that holds an exciting, empowering energized state of mind unparalleled in its force. It is the collective state of mind that drives us into the âRefirement Zone.â
Baby Boomers have an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild the perception of retirement. We have access to medical care, access to knowledge about nutrition, fitness, and psychological well-being, and convenient access to new ideas about our world. If you are 65 years old, you potentially have another 35 years to go; the quality of those years are influenced most by your attitude, approach, and habits! At 65 you are way too young to do nothing, and at 48 you still may have young children to put through elementary school. You could have softball and soccer games in your coaching future, bake sales and football rallies, teaching kids to ride a bike or how to swim. It will be limited primarily by your beliefs.
Your imagination and initiative can open a new world of possibilities.
It is use or lose it, that is my message to all of us!
I like to talk about this tipping point in our society when all of us enter the âBoomers Rockâ collective, join the âRefirement Zoneâ movement, ignite our lives and lead. Take our collective knowledge, passion for life, wisdom and experience and change the world, just like the 60âs and 70âs, there was no sitting around, it was time for expansion of creativity, thought and energy. Creationism at its finest and a collective mindset that changed history; that is where we find ourselves again, our collective is going to be known as the âBoomers Rock Generationâ, where giving back to society, helping others and looking forward to our future is the collective mindset, we are not going to allow entitlement programs bother us as they shrivel and disappear. We are going to be self- sufficient, empowered, enlightened and have strength in our collective voice, that my friends is my view of the future, join me for an exciting ride.
To advance this movement, look for my blog entries here on VoiceAmerica. I will write about the best ideas from my radio show that we discuss for improving your quality of life. Improve your life every day, Ignite your life ânowâ! Peace Tom tom@boomersrock.us
