By
Lillian Duncan
When we’re young (meaning twenties, thirties, and maybe even your forties), we all dream of that day! You know the day—retirement day! We dream of doing nothing but our favorite past times—reading on a veranda sipping a cold drink—lemonade if you will.
That’s our dream until reality sets in!
Sure I still plan on doing some of that
lemonade-sipping reading on my veranda. OK—it’s really a deck but I can pretend
it’s a veranda if I want. But the truth is all play and no work makes me a very
bored and boring person!
And who wants that?
Not me! And hopefully not you either!!
So what then shall we do?
It’s time for ACT TWO.
ACT TWO is different for each of us. But make no
mistake there needs to be an ACT TWO for each us as we retire from our daily
jobs. Studies show that a lot of people die within six months of retirement.
And sadly, I’ve known people that fell right
into those statistics.
We work all our lives so we can enjoy our
retirement but when we get there, it may not be quite as fulfilling as we’d
dreamed of.
Why would that be?
I believe we all need to have a purpose in life,
no matter what age we are. When that purpose disappears so does our reason for
living. And that’s not a good thing!
That’s why we need ACT TWO.
ACT TWO gives us a new purpose in life or better
yet purposes!
Be creative when developing ACT TWO. It should
include leisure activities if that’s something you enjoy, but it should include
activities that are meaningful and useful to yourself and/or to others as well.
My ACT TWO includes developing and growing my
writing career as a mystery/suspense writer, but that’s not all it includes.
Just a few weeks ago, I gave away my good set of china that I’ve owned for more
than forty years!
Why? So, I can do what I’ve wanted to do for
years, but never did. I’m going to buy a new set of dishes—one piece
at a time. My way. I plan to buy depression glass—all pink but all different
pieces.
How fun does that sound?
I can’t wait to get started and, by the way, I
plan to use it as my daily set of dishes as well! What’s the point of saving it
for a special dinner? Every day’s special!
My ACT TWO includes other activities as well,
but I want to hear about your plans now. What’s on your agenda for ACT TWO?
Lillian Duncan is a multi-published author. Her most recent releases
include, The Christmas Stalking, Deception, and Pursued. Betrayed will
be released in 2013. She writes the types of books she likes to read—fast-paced
suspense with a touch of romance.
To learn more about Lillian and her books, you
may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or her blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes
at www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog
at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.
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6 comments:
What a wonderful column! Yes, Act Two or our "retirement" years are not just a matter of waiting to die! No way!!
Great, excellent philosophy, Lillian, I totally agree with you...even though I tend to call it Act Three: for me, Act One is the Young Adult entering adulthood, Act Two is maturity/career, Act Three is post-career/retirement.
No matter. The thing is to plan for a full second career (yes, Act II!) and we're in luck: with medical advances, when you retire at 60, you can really plan on a full second career lasting 25 years!
Anyway, that's my plan. Act One, I was an economist working for the United Nations. Act Two, I'm a writer, so far 6 books, plus poetry. And now a 7th book coming! One should never give up, well done Lillian!
I love it! Getting rid of stuff to get more of other people's stuff that they're trying to get rid of! We and our stuff have several acts it seems.
Great post!
Courtney
That is so funny! I never thught of it that way--but I need dishes to eat from
I agree, Claude, the photography is excellent but I can't take credit for that!
Thanks, Lillian. I resonate to several things here- have been making some choices, too, that I'd never have made a few years back! It's fun.
Gail Kittleson
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