Winning the lottery is, and remains, nothing more than am unattainable fantasy for virtually everyone who considers buying a ticket. Articles like “Lotto Regret,” in the July 19, 2023, edition of USA Today point out that a third of those who win $1 million or more declare bankruptcy within 5 years.
Most of the rest in the winner’s circle are dominated by conflict, regret and lawyers.
Lottery ticket buyers are overwhelmingly represented by people of limited economic means. There is rarely any thought given to how to manage the influx of cash. It goes out about as fast as it comes in.
Most of you reading Your Best Retirement will never fall prey to the lust of such get-rich-quick dreams. You would of course not turn down the money, but you have probably worked hard for everything you now have.
I, for one, pride myself on being a cut above the great mass of unwashed humanity hoping for the life-changing windfall.
Pride goes before destruction, said the Preacher. And therein lies the problem.
If there is an enemy seeking our destruction, it is probably within one’s own heart.
Retirement: Relaxation at last!
Most of us have managed the income, such as it was (or is) through early working life, career (and career disappointment), family, child-rearing and home ownership. Maybe you have been smart enough to manage your investments well, study the pension plan (if there was one), and take advantage of tax-deferred shelters. You have some asset base available to you — maybe not as much as you’d like, but you’re smart enough to know that even with twice the amount you would still long for more.
“Just a little bit more,” was John D. Rockefeller’s answer when asked how much money was enough. That, from the man who owned 90% of the nation’s oil & gas revenue, putting him in control of 1% of the entire US economy.
The enemy of our retirement lifestyle is not the shortage of money, it is the abundance of ease.
When there is no obligation to do something worth doing, then nothing worth doing gets done. While that is not necessarily bad — I’ve worked hard, don’t I deserve to relax for a bit?? — it turns into boredom, meaninglessness, dissatisfaction, and usually weight gain.
Relaxing for a bit is fine — I prefer my relaxation in small bites rather than big plates — but an effective and fulfilling retirement requires more than idleness. The retirees I know who are energetic, respected and healthy are those who are still in the game, not sitting on the sidelines sipping the hot chocolate.
Effective contestants (effective, relevant and contributing retirees) do not just happen to stumble onto the field; they have a plan and they are putting it into action.
PERMA revisited
Back in YBR Episode 5, Coach Ledford introduced PERMA. It is a model for an effective and rewarding lifestyle during the retirement years. First introduced by Martin Seligman, new president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, it offers 5 principles for “wellbeing.” These concepts apply to everyone, working or retired, but are especially relevant to those of us seeking to maximize our impact in the time God has granted us.
Positive emotion — hope, interest, joy, love. Builds on resources and pursuits that lead to personal resilience and contribution to one’s society.
Engagement — immersion in a flow state of productive involvement with an especially fulfilling activity.
Relationships — building on, or establishing new contacts with others. This prevents cognitive decline and enhances emotional health.
Meaning — serving something greater than oneself. Focusing on a purpose in life that leads to deep satisfaction.
Accomplishments — Achievement, mastery, competence. Perseverance and passion have joined forces to help one flourish in attaining goals.
I like all those concepts. (I confess I have a little difficulty understanding that “flow state” business in the Engagement bullet point. I’m not sure I have mastered that one for more than very short bursts.)
The enemy of our retirement lifestyle is not the shortage of money, it is the abundance of ease.
PERMA objectives are worth pursuing, but for most of us they will not simply push themselves into our lives. They must be sought after and seized. Who doesn’t want happiness, lasting friendships and a sense of purpose? These are the gold stars at which we aim. They are the profit from a life well lived.
But here is the lesson that you know well from your own life experience: Without stress, there is never profit. Without effort, there is no forward progress.
“The Second Law of Thermodynamics”
In my younger days I hung out with some pretty lofty thinkers. (I had a hard time keeping up.) One of them, a college physics major, was enthralled with the notion of entropy: Everything in the universe always moves from a state of order to a state of disorder.
A current website puts it like this:
Why is it that when you leave an ice cube at room temperature, it begins to melt? Why do we get older and never younger? And, why is it whenever rooms are cleaned, they become messy again in the future?
Certain things happen in one direction and not the other; this is called the "arrow of time" and it encompasses every area of science.
Conversations with my buddy back in the day, as you might expect, tended to be depressing.
He did make a point, however, that this notion of entropy (originally stated by a French physicist as the Second Law of Thermodynamics) directly contradicts the theory of evolution. That, as much as anything, made an impression on me as a university student, where natural evolution was an unchallenged tenet of faith.
Those conversations launched me toward an exploration of what we now call Intelligent Design. At about the same time, I was exposed to the Christian gospel. I came to see a Biblical worldview as the fulfillment, rather than the opponent, of critical thinking.
“Make a new plan, Stan”
So, given that life always moves toward increasing disorganization, to channel Francis Shaeffer: How Should We Then Live? I submit that a planned approach to the golden years is necessary, if you intend that the time God has granted you might be Your Best Retirement.
A plan: Encompassing multiple initiatives, satisfying stated objectives, adhering to expressed timelines.
PERMA expresses the overall goals of such a plan, but there are lots of moving parts to bring those goals to reality. Over the past several issues of the YBR newsletter, we have touched on several of these:
Your Identity
The 3-legged stool
Imposter syndrome
Social relationships
Money management
The curious list
The side hustle
Time buckets
Legacy
Conversations with my buddy back in the day, as you might expect, tended to be depressing.
There are other components as well. Most of your retirement peers will never invest the time and resources to organize these into a coherent, actionable plan for success. We urge you to be different. Know where you are going and how you will get there.
In the coming months, we will show you practical methods. We are not mountaintop gurus; but we know what we know, and we have some put some modest brain energy into developing what we believe is an effective approach to exercising Your Best Retirement.
Challenge Question
Related to PERMA (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment) which one aspect do you find most troubling? What will result if you fail to master it?
Download the Challenge Tracker and record your thoughts. Click the link just below.
What does the Scripture say?
Another confession: I have always hated the following passage because it is so convicting. Which means it is incredibly insightful. We have to get this one right, and it is so easy to get it wrong.
This is the hard truth of entropy as applied to our moral, physical and financial condition:
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a thief, and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 6:10-11
Stick with us. Together, we will begin to explore the No Regrets Retirement Action Plan.
See you next time.
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