{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Purpose","description":"Cam\u2019s been studying retirement trends for his work lately. One thing\u2019s for sure, he\u2019s not ready! ----- More often than not, when I ask someone who has retired in the past two years, their answer is nearly exactly the same. They say, \u201cWell, retirement\u2019s not all it\u2019s cracked up to be.\u201d Why? They worked so hard for it, now they have it. So, what\u2019s missing? My work has steered me into retirement studies. Most people think about money when they think about retirement planning, but I\u2019m learning money is not the only thing you need to plan for. There\u2019s more. And it\u2019s something seldom discussed The greatest problems in retirement, I\u2019m learning, the sudden loss of purpose. Work provided purpose. And even if you didn\u2019t like the purpose or if the purpose weren\u2019t compelling to you, it was something. Retirement means that that purpose suddenly disappears. It vanishes overnight. And people struggle when they have no purpose. Most retirees say they can\u2019t wait to have more time to pursue their hobbies but, again, research shows that after about six months, the things people did as recreation while they were working loses its appeal when done too frequently. Playing golf, gardening, visiting kids and grandkids, playing cards, and taking cruises and whatever don\u2019t constitute a purpose. Purpose is the fuel for a happy retirement. And the best retirements include new purposes that involve giving back in some way \u2013 like teaching or mentoring \u2013 and include learning something where advancing skill and advancing creativity is visible \u2013 like playing guitar, writing, learning to garden, even learning to play golf. It\u2019s learning something that will take you from novice towards mastery. Not achieving mastery, just progressing towards it so that achievement is visible. The greatest predictor of a long life plus a happy retirement are a meaningful purpose plus the social connections in retirement. Most people\u2019s social connections while working are with the people they work with. Work friends. These relationships are generated by proximity \u2013 you\u2019re near them and speak to them regularly \u2013 and shared mission- you\u2019re working towards shared goals. Those two are both important. And as much as you may think your work friends and you may never not be friends, about 80% of work relationships quickly fade in retirement. Without the proximity or the shared mission of work, there\u2019s little to keep you connected.   And there\u2019s a lot more, like you sit for an average of two to three hours more each day in retirement. I\u2019m not ready to retire. I\u2019ve got a good number of years yet. And I\u2019m especially not ready after learning what I need to do to prepare for a happy retirement. I\u2019m vulnerable to an unhappy one right now, and I need to get my act together. Retirement can easily be 20 years or more. It\u2019s so long they call it a second adulthood, and I struggled, and continue to struggle, through my first adulthood. I need some time, some hobbies, some friends, and a plan for a new purpose if I want to get this next one right. I got a lot of work to do to get ready for work to be over. I\u2019m Cam Marston and I\u2019m just trying to Keep it Real. ","author_name":"Keepin' It Real with Cam Marston","author_url":"https:\/\/cammarston.com\/keepin-it-real-with-cam-marston\/","html":"