When we talk about our long-term goals, for a number of working professionals,life after retirement usually is on top of this list

Some of us are interested to accomplish certain things before we get there, some of us want to go the with the flow , nevertheless most of us will think of this at some point in time.

My dad who worked all his life for a Public Sector Union (PSU), a synonym for an Enterprise in India where the government has the highest stake in terms of equity, must have also thought about this at some point in his professional life. He retired last month and this got me thinking.

More about him.I have always seen him discharge his duties as a husband, a son , a father and a brother quite efficiently, or in the Indian parlance, his dharma in the most unselfish, disciplined and sometimes to the extent of being called mundane. I always assume that this is what normal people do (am I being dismissive?) , without sparing a lot of thought about all those people who are not all that he is , it fills me up with sense of gratitude and appreciation for all that he has done.

He was born and raised in a modest economical background, but a rich and diverse cultural, social and religious one. I am certain some of these experiences molded him to what he is today and I can infer that they would have had a positive impact on him.

I am proud of his accomplishments and what he was able to provide to his near and dear ones. He is, in some way, instrumental in what I am today.

His retirement brings a lot of thoughts back into my head on how I should retire? what should my legacy be?

Should I plan to accomplish x,y and z before I retire or just remain happy in the present, blissfully unaware of what the future holds for me…in other words,not plan or worry too much about the future .Talk to your near and dear ones. Involve them in planning your long term objectives.

I also see that some people are wired differently.. wired to worry about things they do not have control over, wired to always worry about the future, wired to compare and conclude. Numerous studies have shown that none of these help us get better at things but increases anxiety, stress . I will leave the details on my opinion on what i learnt about how our ancestral brain is wired to another day.

Determine what is important in your life and stick to it. Sacrifices are necessary, but remember, you have to persevere, you need the grit to suceed.

Go, google the term “grit” and get going!

Edit 1: May 2020