The Myth of Retirement. Part Five. Possible Solutions

Written by joyenergyandhealth on . Posted in Blogs

Believing in the myth of retirement brings on a whole cascade of negative consequences. One of the false assumptions that hold up the myth is that age 65 (or any arbitrary age) is old.

Whether we think 65 is old or 70 or 75, we give instructions to our subconscious mind to deliver on that belief and make us old.

The subconscious mind more or less runs our lives. Whatever beliefs and/or feelings are stored there reflects into our world.

Do you doubt that statement? Then think of driving a car for the first time. There are so many things to think about consciously…taking the parking brake off, putting the car into gear, checking all three rearview mirrors, looking to see there is no other car coming before we pull out, checking for pedestrians and especially young children.

Now, take your right foot off the brake, put it on the accelerator pedal, signal, turn the steering wheel, gently press on the accelerator, check again for traffic. Add more pressure until you are up to speed, watch for stop signs, red lights, think about what your destination is and what is the best route to take. Watch for other cars and try to anticipate them in case someone cuts you off. Look in the rear view mirrors again, brake…whoops, not too hard. Signal a turn, look over your shoulder to make sure no one is coming.

Whew. There is so much to do, you may have found yourself quite tired after the first time at the wheel. You park the car, put it in neutral, apply the parking brake and breathe a sigh of relief. You made it without hitting anybody and only got honked at once. 🙂

Now think about driving once you have been doing it for years. You may have had the experience of driving somewhere, reaching your destination and realizing you had missed the whole drive as your mind was daydreaming somewhere else entirely.

The subconscious mind has learned the skill and it took over all those conscious functions.

That is an example. Once we program it, the subconscious basically runs the show. So it is with retirement. We learned a set of beliefs about retirement and the subconscious makes those beliefs come true.

Remember the four false assumptions about retirement? Once again, they are:
1)    Age 65 is old.
2)    Leisure is more fulfilling than work.
3)    Older people should make room for the next generation
4)    People over 65 make worse workers.

1 and 4 may be the worst. Regardless, if these ideas that are now fully subscribed by the subconscious mind, the subconscious moves heaven and earth to make them come true. We become old before our time and we can actually become worse workers…until and unless we unravel those belief structures and replace them with something more positive.

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with stepping aside from work if you the finances to do so. Here though is a unique and relatively easy way to undo the negative influences of the retirement myth, even if you are already retired.

Marci Shimoff, the author of Happy for no Reason, tells the story of her father who retired at age 72 from a job he absolutely loved, dentistry. When he retired, he asked himself, what is it about the job that I love so much? He came up with the answer that it was the intricate work involved. So…he started to do needlepoint!

He kept it up, stayed active and loved his life in “retirement.” At age 85, Marci was visiting with him when he was just starting on a large needlepoint project. Amazed, Marci asked how long he expected it to take? Her father’s answer was, that at the speed he had been going, he expected it to take four years. Here was a man at age 85, starting on a four year project!

Did he finish it? Yes, and it now hangs on Marci’s wall. The video of Marci explaining this may still be up…check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=941eHxlqNXU&feature=plcp

So, what is the formula for unraveling the negative and damaging beliefs about retirement? If we take the example of Marci’s father, it is this: figure out what gives or gave you the “job satisfaction” in your work and find a away to get that same satisfaction in another way.

Some may say they have little or no “job satisfaction,” that their work is just a paycheck. It may be challenging to find what fuels our passion if it has been allowed to idle for a long time. It may however be one of the most important challenges you take on as it has the potential to get in touch with your inner joy on a deep level.

Many of these 108 Tips for More Joy, Energy and Health are designed to help you with this. If you have been laughing daily with me on the video at the beginning of the series, you are no doubt more in touch with your inner Authentic Joy. Tip #3 is a great help in making decisions.

My book The Zen of Joy, How to Rewire Your Brain for Happiness and Success. Minutes a Day to Boost Your Performance, Productivity and Profits can be a help too.

It is a series of 24 “protocols” that work synergistically to unlock the inner joy. In doing the program, you may find yourself being led to your passion without any real effort. Here is more info: http://zenofjoy.com/

The bad news: each of us has to find our own way.

The good news: each of us has a unique path that can manifest joy, energy and health for us.

Use the tools. Pay attention to intuition. Meditation is most helpful. There is a zen saying: “We need to meditate 15 minutes a day unless we are very busy, in which case, we need to meditate one hour a day.”

Many of my best ideas have come to me during meditation.

Any and all information provided here is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical practitioner. Individuals are advised not to self-medicate in the presence of significant illness. Always consult with your licensed medical practitioner first before undertaking anything…be it supplements, exercise programs or other protocols. The information on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Do not construe the information provided here as authoritative health advice…or authoritative advice of any sort. All information provided or referred-to on this website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be health, medical, financial, accounting or tax advice, nor should it be relied upon as such. Matti Anttila is not a licensed financial planner, doctor or health practitioner. If you're not inclined to Do-It-Yourself then please, before you Do-It-To-Yourself, obtain professional advice.

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