I love travelling.
Give me a suitcase, passport and airline tickets and it doesn’t really matter where the destination is, or what the reason is. I just love exploring different countries.
So when people talk to me about wanting to travel when they retire, I’m like an excited puppy bouncing around. Where do you want to go? What do you want to see and do? How are you going to get there? How long will you stay?
I never questioned this desire to travel in them or me, and never thought it would change.
But a few years ago, two couples I know who had recently retired came back from big overseas trips and told me that some of the fun had gone out of it. The trips were too long, they tried to do too much, and in the end they were just glad to be home.
I have known both of these couples for 20 years, and like me they had always loved getting away. I thought that something must have gone wrong on the trip, or maybe it was related to a couple of health problems I knew they were experiencing.
But then I heard it more frequently, and realised it was actually more common than I had first thought.
Then it happened to me.
I was in Fiji for a conference a couple of weeks ago. I know, it’s a tough gig: white sands, swaying palm trees, friendly people. Yet when I got home, I was exhausted.
Now admittedly it was a three day conference with a packed agenda, and I spent two days travelling to get there and home, but it’s the first time I have ever felt that tired after a trip to a destination like that.
And I understood.
Travel can be stressful.
It can be draining.
Even if you are travelling to one of the most idyllic places on earth.
Sometimes all we want to do is to relax in a familiar environment.
The reality is that even if you love travelling, unless you fall into the tiny minority, it is going to be something that occupies a small proportion of your time in retirement.
Yet many people I speak to spend so much time thinking about and planning their retirement travels but spend very little if any time planning what they will do to occupy themselves when they are at home.
That shouldn’t surprise, since if you are working you know what you are going to be doing in the time between your holidays so you don’t really need to plan.
But what if you aren’t working?
What is going to provide you with a reason for getting out of bed each day? Or a sense of fulfilment, achievement and belonging?
To have a successful retirement, we might want to spend more time thinking about this. Download David’s book “Clinical Trials” to read more about these issues.
If you would like a Second Opinion on your Retirement Plans please contact us.
