This plan entails first going to school in order to obtain the necessary credentials before attending a university. After that, you have to find a suitable job and get a mortgage; you have to get married and have children; and finally, when you grow too old to work, the government will pay you a pension.
Some individuals will always resent you if you fail to complete any of these steps. They will ask you, "Why haven't you gotten married yet?" or "Why are you renting a house? It's a waste of money," and "Why haven't you found a suitable job yet?"
The mainstream idea that we have to work very long hours and earn enough money to finally be able to retire and rest may be the strangest thing we do as a human society. It might sound like a good idea in theory, but here are four reasons why it might seem so bad.
Reasons Why You Should Not Retire
1. Retirement is bad for your health
It was often thought that excessive hard work would lead to early death, especially when you reach old age. Thus, we retire to give our tired bodies a rest. However, research has shown that people who retire actually have a lower average life expectancy than those who keep working. This is because work, or even part-time jobs, gives your life purpose and gives you a reason to wake up in the morning. It keeps you alert and helps stave off those nasty health issues that may hit you later in life.
2. Live for the now rather than the future
Seeking retirement is somewhat paradoxical. You’re supposed to spend the best and healthiest years of your life stuck in a job with a huge amount of stress and mounting debts, and it’s okay to wait because in 40 years you can give up everything.
But why not spend our youth doing all the things we want? Travel and see the world, go out and have fun, and try all the things you’ve ever wanted to do while you’re still healthy. Do you want to spend the best years of your life in an office, or do you want to live a life full of adventure?
You definitely need money to fund all this fun and entertainment, and that’s okay. Make the money you need, but don’t tie yourself to a boring career and to loans you don’t want just because it’s what you’re “supposed” to do.
3. Know that you may never need to retire
If you are still in your twenties or thirties, there is a slight chance that you will never need to retire because of the great advances in medicine and science. We may be able to eradicate major diseases in the near future.
The ability to slow down aging due to advances in stem cell technology is becoming more of a fact than fiction. Life expectancy can increase up to two or three times, or even to a number we can’t imagine.
Don’t live your life believing that you have limited time on this planet. Will you aspire to retire at 65 when you know you’ll live to be 200 years old? Of course not. Your view of the world and your perception of it will, accordingly, change to a great extent.
Paradoxically, a long life expectancy and the possibility of not aging will enhance your ability to live your life to the fullest. That boring career can seem a lot worse when you know you’re going to do it for the next 100 years. So live in the present and don’t overthink about the future.
4. Know that commitment is not always a positive thing
Having a certain structure in our lives is good. If everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, that surely means that things are going well. Right? While yes, this works well, it remains a very boring way of living because commitment is the enemy of individuality. You should live your life the way you want. We are all different people with different desires and aspirations. Think of those people stuck in their routines but secretly wishing they could do something else.
If you really aspire to get a secure job and a loan to buy a house, that's fine, but what if this life conflicts with your core beliefs?
It's never too late to change your life and start doing what you really want. Do you think you'd suddenly be happier if you retired? It is certainly possible, but what if it isn't? What would you do, then? You will have wasted your life in pursuit of an impossible dream.
That’s why you should realize that change must start today. If you keep putting it off, you may suddenly find that life has passed you by and the world no longer needs you.
In conclusion
Life is what happens right here, right now. The present is all we have, and focusing on the future may prevent us from living the life we really want. Would you like to be the one looking back with a heart full of regret for making the wrong decision? Believe in yourself and live your life on your own terms.
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