Retirement affords the potential for a lot of issues. Extra time for travelling, sometimes sleeping in, spending time with the grandkids, beginning a brand new interest, or lastly studying Battle and Peace can all be a part of your plan in your newfound downtime. 

However saying goodbye to the day by day grind — no less than within the conventional sense — isn’t at all times what it’s cracked as much as be, and may doubtlessly be detrimental to your well being. 

Give it some thought: When your future is greater than your previous, you’re motivated, development, and looking for new methods to hone your craft. That may all finish with retirement. And in case you tie your goal in life to your work, as many individuals do, it may be particularly problematic for each your bodily and emotional well being. 

The truth is, pushing aside retirement by only one 12 months can decrease the danger of “all-cause” mortality by 11%. Think about what would occur in case you by no means retired — or, no less than, rethink what it means to retire. 

Redefining retirement

In case you haven’t guessed, I don’t consider in retirement in any method, form or kind. The abrupt shift from a high-engagement profession to a state of leisure can have a unfavourable impression in your sense of goal and total well-being in case you’re not ready to retire in a wholesome trend. It’s all within the method, as my brother and I can attest. 

In 2018, we made the choice to promote our enterprise to a bunch of personal fairness companions. I entered into the association with a plan: To assist different entrepreneurs get what they need from their companies. I used to be collaborating as an advisor, serving on boards, teaching different firms, and so forth. 

My brother, then again, didn’t undertake an analogous technique. He had nothing deliberate and spent his time simply strolling across the block day-after-day. He grew to become depressed, directionless and purposeless. His psychological well being suffered considerably, so I satisfied him to purchase one other enterprise. That was considerably useful, however he’s nonetheless looking. 

Earlier than making the sale, exiting your enterprise, or simply retiring generally, actually take into consideration the place you’ll derive your achievement. How do you propose to make use of the liberty that retirement affords to deliver achievement to your life? For my part, a good way to channel that freedom is to harness your entrepreneurial experience in a unique capability — teaching, mentoring, advising, contributing and serving to. 

That method, you’re constructing your individual enterprise once more, which brings comparable advantages as your earlier position: entrepreneurial engagement, shopper interactions, skilled contributions, that adrenaline rush from closing a deal, and many extra. 

Discovering goal in retirement

To be shoulder to shoulder with somebody who’s “been there and finished that” is invaluable, and it’s not one thing younger entrepreneurs be taught in enterprise faculty. That’s one thing that solely skilled entrepreneurs can supply — and in case you accomplish that, it’ll additionally present you a better goal for this subsequent part in life, whereas getting compensated within the course of. So, it’s essential to organize for the liberty that retiring or exiting a enterprise affords. 

It’s very similar to the story of Ben Franklin strolling down the streets of Philadelphia when somebody yelled to him, “Mr. Franklin, what have you ever given us?” And he responded, “I’ve given you a republic. Now, it’s as much as you in case you can hold it.” You should be conscious in how you propose to maintain your newfound freedom. 

When you choose how you’ll use your freedom, then it turns into a matter of methods to defend your time. Personally, I exploit Dan Sullivan’s Entrepreneurial Time System. I block off days once I don’t do any work. Different days are both designated for focus (once I’m transferring the enterprise ahead) or for buffer (once I clear up any potential messes). It’s essential to have a system in place to guard your time. 

Retirement is a idiot’s errand. Don’t do it. What you actually search is freedom. As an alternative of retiring within the conventional sense, make use of your entrepreneurial experience by serving to the following era of entrepreneurs. Your bodily and emotional well being will likely be higher for it. 

Mark O’Donnell is the Visionary at EOS Worldwide and is captivated with serving to entrepreneurs get what they need from their companies. He helps purchasers make clear objectives and goals and take actionable steps to realize them. Mark is a 10-time Inc. 5000 entrepreneur with expertise in high-growth organizations. Named to the 2022 Inc. 5000 as one in all America’s fastest-growing firms, in addition to to the 2022 Inaugural Inc. Energy Associate listing, EOS Worldwide has helped 1000’s of entrepreneurs all around the globe get all the things they need from their companies.

For extra insights and inspiration from as we speak’s main entrepreneurs, take a look at EO on Inc. and extra articles from the EO weblog.