Be IRRESPONSIBLE! It makes life interesting
Feeling rusty and stuck in life?
I am not a motivational speaker, not a guru, not an exercise enthusiast who promises you those magnificent abs or that gym-fit body we all dream of. I am your neighbour, the guy next door, the guy you see getting in his car every morning and going off to work. I have (or used to have) that white-picket fence, the 2-car garage, a dog, a mortgage, weekend getaways to the lake or the campground, a 2-week summer holiday. I hate going to the gym, can’t stand lifting weights or sitting on a stationary bike peddling away trying to raise a sweat so that I can go home and feel good about myself (but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do, it’s a fact of life, and not everything can be pleasant). I am your average person who likes his food, his beer, his wine. I like to sit around and chat, read, and binge-watch tv series.
It’s not too late…
So why am I telling you this? Because it’s never too late to get out and do something different. By the age of 50 we may be thinking of slowing down, after all, you might want to take early retirement, or retire at 60, and that doesn’t seem so far away; I mean, it seems like only yesterday when you got married, had kids and watched them grow, or you started your career and time has just slipped by. You put your kids through university (or you put away your money), and now you want some time to relax, sit at home, go off with friends to do whatever. You tell yourself that you’re now going to save money for your retirement if you haven’t already done so. You tell yourself that once you’ve retired, you’ll travel and go places: Paris, London, New York, Europe, Asia, South America, that 10-day cruise to Alaska – it’s all shimmering right there in front of you, right after you retire. What if you don’t make it to your retirement?
I am not telling you to quit your job, sell your house, and just take off into the wild, but what I am saying is that readjusting priorities isn’t a bad thing. Instead of taking a 2-week vacation by pulling that huge motorhome behind your gas-guzzler, sell it off and start doing shorter 4 or 5-day weekend trips with a tent. Instead of splurging on that huge and expensive vacation in a place like Paris or Rome or New York or London, maybe consider going from 5-star all the way to 3-star for most of the trip. Extend your stay to beyond just the expensive metropolises – include the countryside where things are cheaper and you are likely to learn and enjoy just as much – then treat yourself to a 2-night stay in a top hotel at the end of the trip, you’ll appreciate the glamour and comfort that much more.
There’s something to be said for camping
Travel more often with less and be enriched
It’s not that far to go from any city in North America to a national park or someplace where you can actually enjoy nature. Use your annual leave wisely, by taking it a day or two at a time, adding the weekend days or national holidays, pretty soon you are having 4 or 5-day weekends and only 3 or 4-day work weeks. It’s a real chore to prep the motorhome for a 2 or 3-week vacation, it only takes an hour or so to check the tent and sleeping bags, throw a cooler with some food in the car and take off. Similarly, if you live in areas such as Asia or Europe, a 4 or 5-day weekend trip can take you to many different countries and places, and it need not be expensive.
By getting out more often, even on those shorter trips, you will do more for your overall health and well-being than taking that 3-week vacation. There’s nothing wrong with a 3-week or even 2-month vacation, as long as you also fill the rest of the year with shorter, more active getaways. Just the action of leaving the comforts of home behind will mean that you have to learn, to adapt, and that’s when the real fun begins and life takes on new meaning. You’ll meet people and make new friends, you might learn how to cook something delicious, a new way of casting that fly, or a few phrases in a different language. When those things happen, that’s when you open your mind, and actually have a better chance of reaching your retirement than patiently sitting at home, saving, and waiting for the day to arrive.
When should you finally step out of your comfort zone and be ‘irresponsible’? NOW!
