The above title is something that many people espouse to live by.  But in my opinion you can’t just go with the flow in your retirement life. At least not the way I perceive it or at least not in the beginning. Going with the flow is allowing things to happen without much outside intervention. When we enter your retirement life each of us needs to have some plan on what we are going to do and what we hope to accomplish. Without that plan going with the flow could mean getting up every morning, watching TV all day and then going back bed at night.  It could mean being a full-time couch potato! This type of flow is indeed hapless and very easy to get trapped into.

For most of us retirement from a full day job is the first time in our adult lives that we are free to choose just about everything that revolves around our life.  Of course if you are married those decisions have to be passed by your better half. 🙂 When we enter our retirement years most of us have no set commitments or tasks that burdened us during our full-time employment years. We can choose what we want to do and when we want to do it. For some of us this is a very exhilarating time, for others it might prove to be pure agony.  There is nothing wrong with going into retirement without this plan fully in place but you can’t let time slip by and “go with the flow” for too long.

In reality your initial plan usually ends up being only a starting point and many time doesn’t resemble what you finally end up doing but that is OK. Personally there is only one or two of the items from my initial list still on my life plan. Some have been modified in some details and  others proved to simply be something that I really was not interested in. Experimenting with what you want to be in your retirement years is actually one of the most stimulating and exciting things that will probably happen to you.

So, don’t just go with the flow when you enter your retirement years. Try to determine who you want to be and then set out a plan for accomplishing that vision. Maybe who you want to be is quite a bit different from who you presently are; maybe the two are the same. But don’t pass up on the opportunity to make changes in your life now that you are free of many of the day-to-day burdens that hampered you prior to this time.

I am now in my eleventh year of retirement from my corporate job. This time is the most exciting, fulfilling, and enjoyable times of my life. They can be for you too with just a little planning…..