The Relationship Between Time And Retirement — Reality VS Perception

You can plan your time. You can plan your retirement. The irritating thing about time, is that it’s gonna pass whether we use it wisely or not. Birthdays come around every year, though the older one gets the faster they seem to pass. Before you know it, life happens. Bumps in the road are smoothed out, or not. Detours are taken — some planned, some a result of life happening.

We can master our own universe to the extent possible — yet the average American celebrates their 58th birthday with less than $100,000 in retirement funds. Let that resonate a moment or two. Now combine that singular fact with your potential retirement, at least as it sits today. Is time your friend? Or is it becoming clearer each day your old buddy time has stealthily morphed into just another apathetic acquaintance, oblivious to its consequences on your life?

Assuming the requisite health, we’ll all reach that age range where retirement beckons. Some will never retire — a choice freely made. Some won’t retire as a matter of survival. Why? What motivates, or maybe better put, doesn’t motivate some folks to allow time the upper hand as it relates to their last 10-30 years on the planet? According to a random study I recently scanned, the average American lives about 18 years in retirement. Considering the above mentioned $100,000 retirement fund, what is it about planning for retirement in a Purposeful way that eludes the vast majority of the population?

Don’t misunderstand, I get human nature. As each new 365 day period passes it becomes more evident to me how the difference between right and wrong, success and failure, winning and losing, and most other things in life under our putative control, are known by two central factors.

The first is the ability to recognize reality, and the other is the ability to make decisions in a timely manner.

Here’s a real life analogy, using what else, baseball. The strike zone is clearly defined in the rule book. Have you ever known that definition to be the reality in any game, at any level you’ve ever watched? Of course not. Why? ‘Cuz the arbiter of the strike zone is the plate umpire. He can be wrong, right, or erratic in his judgment on any given day, but that doesn’t alter the batter’s reality. I fondly remember a game I did behind the plate at SDSU one night. The batter looked at a third strike curve, which was a no-brainer strike call. I rung him up. As he turned to leave he said to his coach, “That wasn’t a strike coach.” Replied the coach, “Really? Then why are you walkin’ back to the dugout?” One of my favorite memories.

The ability to recognize reality is self explanatory. Though we humans often quibble over ‘perceived reality’ vs ‘actual reality’, a waste of time if there ever was one, we almost always experience an epiphanic moment, one way or the other. Epiphanies are often overrated though, at least in my experience. If they occur as the natural consequence of the newly enlightened one’s conscious decision to understand naked reality, it can become a very positive life altering experience. If, however, it was actual reality smashing head on into the oh so fragile world of one’s so-called perceived but erroneous version, the epiphany often arrives too late to matter.

It arrives nevertheless.

In the context of retirement, this is the person who wakes up one day with the sudden knowledge their reality has in fact been anything but real. That’s the point at which they fully realize their most likely retirement scenario. The key to what ultimately will indeed be the end game for that scenario, is the timing of that epiphany. Were they 30, 40, or 50-something years old? For the youngest of that trio, it should mean nothing more than a sleepless night or two, followed by, one hopes, the resolve to hop on the retirement planning train. The 40-something guy no doubt had more of a spiritual experience when reality, not perception, began slamming his synapses. He’ll soon recover when it dawns on him he still has 20+ years to get his act together. He’ll look back on the experience as a well timed wake-up call.

One of my least favorite tasks is telling 50-somethings their retirement date is most likely unrealistic — or worse, may never come. About a year ago a local couple was in my office to discuss my post analysis thoughts on their situation. I won’t go into the details here, but barring either a rich uncle’s generosity or a windfall out of the blue, he was gonna be working pretty much until he couldn’t. Furthermore, it was my recommendation they take the equity in their home and move it to the cheapest condo they could find — advice the guy’s poor wife simply couldn’t take. I felt so badly for them.

Time’s relationship with retirement is one inextricably founded in reality — not anyone’s mere perception of reality. Perception as reality may work elsewhere, but not when dealing with the inexorable passage of time. Birthdays come and go, regardless of what perceived reality we’ve subjectively constructed. I come face to face with this principle every time I’m in the gym, working out with a 28 year old stud. It’s funny (not) how perception becomes steam in the air when performing the actual exercise is required. Apparently what I used to be able to do has not a thing to do with what’s possible in the now. Go figure.

55 may be the new 40 when it comes to physical health, but all it means 10 years later as you hit 65 without a viable retirement solution, is that you’ll be healthy enough to keep working another decade or more. One of the most important things we ever do in life is take reality as it comes.

If you take one thing from this post, please take this. Perception vs Reality will forever me a replay of Christians vs Lions.

The new reality for so many Americans is a retirement basket half of what it was just the other day. If you recognize that reality in your own situation, ask yourself what might be your response? Will it be more of the same? Will you be considering new directions in your retirement Plan?

Or, is your perceived reality one of hope — things will get back to where they were without you doing much if anything?

Finally, the ability to make timely decisions cannot be overrated — especially as it relates to your retirement. Superb retirements don’t just happen. They’re a result of Purposeful Planning which requires countless decisions based upon the reality of the moment. None of us know the future, regardless of what the talking heads wish us to believe. We do know one thing for sure: We’re either gonna reach retirement age, or we’re gonna be dead. Dead folk don’t retire — another irrefutable reality.

BawldGuy Takeaway: Time’s relationship with retirement doesn’t factor in one’s perception of reality. It is reality — and every day we wake up alive we’re 24 hours closer to it.

What decisions are begging to be made in your current financial reality? Sometimes radical changes can make it difficult to even know what needs deciding. That’s another reality — you can’t deal with the answers to the questions you never knew to ask. ‘Course that leads to the axiom saying we can’t know what we don’t know.

This is why you call the guy. Filling in the blanks is the way unintended negative consequences can be sidestepped. Make sense? Perception and a couple bucks will get you a decent cuppa coffee at most Starbucks. Reality just is.

Call me, write me, send a carrier pigeon, but let’s start a conversation that’ll make your retirement reality something to smile about. My cell is 619 889-7100 OR click this to send me a note. Have a good one.

Related posts:

1. When Does A Retirement Become A Fantasy Instead Of A Reality Waiting For The Right Time?
2. Denial — Facing Reality — Enjoying A Long And Healthy Retirement
3. Over 50 And Going Down The Wrong Road To Retirement? There’s Time — Smile
4. You Can’t Go Back In Time, So You Better Get It Right Today — Retirement Income
5. Real Estate Investors — The Difference Between Pessimism And Reality