Working from Home – Part Two

There’s nothing wrong with taking a break from these crazy times, binge-watching Netflix and giving yourself a breather. It’s necessary to have balance. But what are you doing when the pendulum shifts the other way to make the most of this time? Please allow me to me to make a few suggestions that just may make all the difference.

First of all, we all know that frustration is natural (and inevitable) in these situations, but it can easily be dismissed when we are pro-active and look for the silver lining (there is one, I promise). I’m asking you to embrace the challenge and avoid the extremes of collective depression on one side and sybaritic bingeing on the other. I get it. The problems are real. The stress level is off the charts. But as the Greek philosopher Epicitus said, “The true man is revealed in difficult times.”

To that I would add, it really helps to be an optimist! I think of myself as a “glass is half full” guy. Please understand, I can grumble and bitch with the best of them… everyone has their moments. However, once I get those feelings dealt with, my core values of perseverance and positivity ultimately make me look at why an approach will work — not why it won’t — and seek out ways to facilitate success. 

With this philosophy, I view the “stay at home” order as a golden opportunity for learning and personal growth. I challenge you to do the same. From my end, there are the obvious benefits of enjoying time with my wife and our new dog, Jack. We are walking farther and more often than before, and waving at neighbors we hadn’t previously met.

Another benefit is having a crystal ball into what retirement could feel like (See “Working from Home – Part 1”). One glimpse of how easy it would be to slip from daily value creation into a never-ending Buffer Day feels like an episode from Twilight Zone. After all, why not stay in bed a little longer? Why not skip working out? If the world has hit the pause button, do I really need a rigid schedule?

We could tell ourselves: “I earned this, I’m no longer an 18-year-old dragging myself to a job I disdain. Haven’t I earned the right to restructure my mornings and days however I want? My parents aren’t around to judge my decisions.” 

Perhaps I identify more closely with this line of thinking because I’m a recovering alcoholic and addict. Then again, everyone struggles with personal demons. Maybe you’re wondering if following a negative impulse or even a temptation is “okay” just this one time. Maybe you’ve rationalized: “What’s the harm in relaxing my schedule? Dropping my guard? Cutting some corners? I’ve earned it, and a little backsliding isn’t going to change anything.”

Behavioral triggers, whether it be food, alcohol or unhealthy physical or mental habits, can cause a mini-war between your ears. I can relate. In my book Replace Retirement: Living your Legacy in the Exponential Age, I explain how traditional retirement is often a rapid slide into lethargy, risk avoidance, and increased limitations (sound familiar?). Millions of gifted second-halfers falsely believe, “I can’t do that anymore.” A similar mental barrier is the debilitating belief, “It’s too late.”

As an example, during his 30-plus years of retirement, my own father used this justification as the reason not to take up golf again. In the course of our weekly phone visits, he’d often ask what I’d been doing. If I shared that I’d been golfing, he would fondly recall how, when younger, he could hit the ball a mile down the fairway. When I suggested he pick up his clubs again, he would say, “It’s too late. I can’t do that.” 

His reluctance was puzzling. After all, he’d risen from the drafting table to becoming president of the company during his 37-year career. Is golf really more taxing then becoming CEO of a global company?

Dad sounded like many retired people I meet who share a rapidly narrowing perspective and a shrinking world. With that faulty perspective, golf had become a mountain too high to climb. My father’s attitude is not unique. In fact, it’s the norm within the retirement community. Like him, millions of once-capable, highly-valued contributors to society spent their careers leveraging unique gifts in unique ways. But upon retiring, they blindly accept the notion that they can no longer add value or meet challenges, and their self-worth is diminished.

Personally, I will never settle for that. My partners and I are committed to the right-minded goal of shifting retirement from being a time of reduced contribution and leisure to a period of bold self-transformation. 

My friend and mentor Ari Weinzweig recently introduced me to the writings of Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism. Tzu wrote “The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he is always doing both.” 

Please join us on our journey of making the second half of life better than the first.

And please, don’t wait until the current “stay at home” order is lifted to begin. In fact, this lockdown might be the perfect time to re-evaluate your long-term trajectory and make sure you have a written plan — a roadmap for living exponentially and adding value in every season going forward.

Regardless of age, we can all pursue Tzu’s “vision of excellence.” Get started on creating your own Legacy Map by visiting replaceretirement.com/legacy-map.