Category Archives: Structure for Well-Being

MyLife2.0 - The Journey and Journal, Structure for Well-Being

The Ending is the Best Part!

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In his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller said

“Humans are alive for the purpose of a journey, a kind of three-act structure. They are born and spend several years discovering themselves and the world, then plod through a long middle in which they are compelled to search for a mate and reproduce, and also create stability out of natural instability, and they find themselves at an ending that seems designed for reflection.”

Now, I don’t agree with calling the third act in life the  “ending” but I must say I am enjoying this third phase of life filled with re-flection, re-invention, and challenging generally accepted paradigms immensely!

Please have a read through some past posts (on the sidebar to the left) and let us know which ones most inspire you by commenting. We have recently relocated to the Florida Panhandle, have settled in with family, schools, etc., and are now  excited to commit more time to writing, sharing, and exploring via TJoR and CEOhm (note: CEOhm is currently only available on Facebook). We appreciate your feedback as we continue to grow together.

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The Blue Angels and Quiet Reflection!

Be Good. Do Good. Have Fun!

Structure for Well-Being

The 2nd Agreement: Don’t take ANYTHING personally!

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The second agreement from Don Miguel’s Ruiz’s book, aptly named, “The Four Agreements”, is simple and freeing:

“Don’t take Anything Personally!”

How easy it is to watch others… we can see a child having a tantrum and know he doesn’t really “hate” his mother; we see a senior citizen mad at the customer service representative and know that senior may have had a very challenging day even getting to the store (it wasn’t the fault of the person at the counter or service rep).

Four Agreements BookYet, when it happens to you, when someone criticizes you or yells at you,  it can be more difficult! You may feel offended and your reaction is to defend yourself, defend your beliefs, and create conflicts. You may make something big out of something small because you have the need to be right and make everybody else wrong. You may hold onto this negative energy for hours, days, weeks or even longer! But… maybe that person was simply having a bad day; maybe that person needed to feel better about themselves; maybe that person comes from a different culture/background with different beliefs; maybe it wasn’t about you at all, it was about them.

So much sadness and drama in our lives is caused by us taking things personally. It is true at every age — children, teenagers, college-aged, new career, soccer moms, aging executives, and the elderly. We know those who seize onto the drama. As parents we have been fond of saying in the face of a tantrum, “when the audience leaves ,the show is over.”  The same holds true here, when we don’t take it personally, the drama and negativity fade.

When we create new habits to Not Take it Personally, we find peace, serenity, connections, understanding (as we seek to understand), compassion, love… such wonderful ways to fill our days and lives!

9 Things To Give Up for HappinessAs a life-long student of leadership and mindfulness, I found the following list of 9 Things to Give Up quite interesting related to the agreement not to take anything personally —

I reflected on this list from different perspectives – from the eyes of a child, or a worn-down or complacent colleague, a grumpy complainer, even from the perspective of a successful executive… I know many CEO’s who have mastered the first 6 on this list toward happiness (and success) but remain highly sensitive to the last 3. Obviously, it is these last 3 which highly correlate to “Don’t Take Anything Personally”. I would argue that if a senior leader truly wants to build a healthy and sustainable organization they must master these last 3 for themselves personally and professionally.

I will also put forward, for those of us who may not have mastered these last 3 aspects DURING our careers, retirement is a fantastic time time to tackle them and experience the many FREEING aspects of letting them go. I now regularly challenge myself to let go of these limiting needs. (See: L’Eggo My Ego!)

It will take time… we are working to change habits that we have established over a lifetime; but the benefits are great. By Not Taking Things Personally we open our curiosity and awareness to understand the world around us, to learn more about others and ourselves, to try new things, be silly, have fun, and to maintain thoughtful focus on our priorities, development, health and happiness instead of being distracted by and engaging in poisonous drama. Sounds pretty good to me… ready to give it a try!?

Four Agreements

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Structure for Well-Being, Updates

The First and Most Important Agreement

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I recently posted a photo reminder of The Four Agreements and had quite a few questions about them. So, I thought it would be helpful to write a bit more about each of these agreements. As we explore retirement, we each hope to be more thoughtful, wise, reflective… sometimes we must challenge ourselves to gain these insights and learnings – let’s do it!

Four AgreementsFirst, let me give full credit to where credit is due. Don Miguel Ruiz wrote The Four Agreements, a relatively short book based on ancient teachings of the Toltec’s of Mexico. Irregardless of where they came from originally, they hold great power for each of us today.

These four Agreements are important to consider in order, and the first is clearly the most important. If we can each live by this one Agreement we would eliminate the vast majority of drama, pain, and misunderstanding in our lives and for those around us.

The words of the first Agreement are simple: Be Impeccable with Your Word.

The intent and discipline behind that Agreement, however, are not as simple but very achievable for each of us with practice.

What does Impeccable mean. Certainly, it means be conscious, be choiceful of each word but with what intent? Impeccable comes from the Latin, pecatus, meaning “sin”. Im means “without”. Without Sin in this context doesn’t necessarily refer to religious sin but more broadly moral sin as you may define it. Don’t sin against others or yourself by speaking words of blame, implying guilt, using hurtful words – words that hurt others and ourselves.

So often we use our words to share anger, jealousy, envy, hate, and knowingly or unknowingly create confusion or misdirection in others. How often do our words, and those of others, communicate ‘unsubstantiated truths’ — GOSSIP! And what is the impact of gossip? It is a disturbing and far reaching ripple that can have a significant and long lasting impact on others. When we spend even a moment to reflect on it, it is evident there is no room or reason for gossip in our lives. We should make a commitment now to not speak it, not listen to it, it has no positive purpose for us. Part of Being Impeccable with Our Word, is being conscious about the discipline of eliminating gossip from our mouths and from our interactions every day. I am not saying it is easy, it will take practice, and I will come back to that in a moment.

So, if we seek to eliminate harmful words communicating blame, jealousy, spreading gossip, etc. you may ask, “what is left?!” It is simple and sounds so flowery: Truth and Love.

Speak the truth – share beneficial observations, creativity, curiosity, inquiry to better understand the world and the people around you.

Speak with love – share kindness, service, gratitude, fun and acknowledgement of others around you.
In very short order you will realize the “superpower” in each of us. We have the ability to impact those around us in dramatic and meaningful ways. Positive WordsOur Superpower can be used for good or evil. When we speak words of compassion, we lift people up. We give ourselves and others energy, inspiration, and generate smiles all around us. We do not speak fake positive words or speak with insincerity – simply by removing the negativity and connecting with others in a positive way, we build a better world all around us. We have that Superpower completely within our control.

Lastly, we must “Be Impeccable with Our Word” for OURSELVES. Think carefully about the words we use with ourselves. “Why do bad things always happen to me?” creates a negative energy and a mental focus on bad things — we then reinforce that and see negative things happening to us more often becoming a depressing downward spiral. Or, “I need to lose weight” labels as someone who needs to lose weight – starting tomorrow? or the day after that? but never brings action today! Instead, if focus on the positive and the NOW, if we say to ourselves, “I eat healthy foods” you can feel the impact almost immediately. We feel different, we act different, we eat different. Words are powerful.

Join me in practicing the first of the Four Agreements, and trust me, I am working on it, too! It is first Agreement because it is the most important. It’s daily practice gets us thinking differently and let’s us experience that difference for ourselves and it’s impact on those around us. Be Impeccable with Your Word – Speak only from truth and love. If you fall short one day, notice where and when it happened. Reflect on it at the end of the day and start the next day fresh, again and again. We have built our habits over many days and years, this Agreement will take daily practice and daily discipline but the insights and payoff are immense.

I know you can Be Impeccable with Your Word. It is one of the few things in life which is fully in each of our control. Seize control and let me know what you learn!

…then, we can move on to the Second Agreement! If you enjoyed this post, share with others so we can broaden the impact and learn together.

MyLife2.0 - The Journey and Journal, Structure for Well-Being

ceYoGA: Life Balance

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As an ex-CEO in early retirement, I am pursuing several paths to strengthen skills that have laid dormant and neglected for the past two decades. One of these new pursuits is a training program to become a certified yoga teacher.

In The Circus of Life, yoga is a great complement to being a CEO. While one requires skills of juggling, multi-tasking, thinking of every impact and consequences; the other requires balance, singular focus, and training oneself to be fully present focused on every breath and movement.

I decided to pursue yoga training/certification as a way to do a deep dive into yoga and get even closer to my wife who has been on a yoga journey for the past 15 years. I also wanted this yoga teacher training as a way to commit to more regular exercise and getting fit – It has given me so much more.

My small weekday class at YogaFox is a wonderful and eclectic cross-section of people, good people. There is a fire/belly dancer juggling multiple priorities as she builds a business of teaching and managing entertainers; a young kick-fighter who is building so much confidence as she gets fit and, literally, kicks ass; a mother who is using yoga training as a way to bring some focus back to herself; a newly pregnant woman who is learning to manage her changing center of gravity every month; and myself, an ex-CEO who is taking the time to reflect, get re-grounded, and take better care of himself. Good people, each on a journey for different reasons and each enjoying each other’s company one week a month for six months.

Our teacher is highly educated in yoga and shares everything from the incredible and cleansing experiences of breathing, to the history and philosophy of yoga, to leading and assisting the asanas (postures), and the management of running a yoga studio. She brings humor into our class as we realize at the same time how beneficial it is to truly bring yoga into our daily life, and how challenging that can be in today’s world.

Yoga PhilosophyYesterday we studied and discussed the Yamas and Niyamas of yoga – the restrains and observations. Each yama and niyama was fascinating as we discussed it in depth. Each spoke to me as exactly what I need to focus on right now. Each had depth and applicability to every individual in every situation. And each was more relevant in today’s hectic, ego-centric, type A world, than ever before. A few examples:

YamasAhimsa (non-violence) – “My thoughts and actions are focused on loving awareness. I nurture and cherish myself and others. I am aware that the mind sometimes entertains thoughts of fear, anger, or selfishness but I do not get caught in these thoughts or act upon them. I accept, without judgement, any uncomfortable mental states. I release them and return to gentle, non-violent expressions of my energy.” – what a wonderful demonstration of how we can take the skills of meditation (quieting the mind and letting thoughts pass without judgement) into our daily lives… and what a challenge!

Asteya (Non-Stealing) – “I live in gratitude for all I have. I take and use only what is rightfully mine. I respect the possessions and talents of others and release my desires to own objects or talents I do not have. I appreciate my life as it is.”

Yoga NiyamaTapas (Austerity) – “I cultivate discipline. I have a realistic, balanced schedule for my seva (service), sadhana (practice), and personal needs. I am disciplined and also relaxed. I do not drain my energy by over effort and over work. My purpose is clear, my mind is decisive.”

Each yama or niyama can be very deep on its own, relating to our bodies, our minds, our actions, our environment, and our relationship with others. Each can be seen in the space of a moment, a day, or a lifetime. At the same time, when you look at the set of 10 yamas and niyamas we also see the balance between them. While Asteya (non-stealing) says we release our desire to own an object or talent we do not have, Tapas (austerity) says we bring daily discipline to work on ourselves. Thus, it is a balance of personal commitment and improvement without an unhealthy desire or focus on the outcome. Simply enjoy each moment, the journey, the practice… and by doing so, we will grow regardless.

Unknowingly, my yoga journey is quite yoga-esque. I did not sign up for yoga training because I have a strong desire to become a yoga instructor. I signed up to create a daily practice, to learn, and to gain something new I can share with my wife. And because of this, I am enjoying my training all the more – not thinking about ‘what will be on the test’ or ‘can I master teaching the class’ – simply appreciating the time together for one week a month with wonderful people, each on their own journey in life. Damn! I am starting to sound like a real yogi!

Each month when my yoga training week comes around I experience some resistance. “Oh no, there goes my whole week.” Then we take a few slow, deep breaths, and the world melts away and I can see it from a more distant perspective. At its best, yoga is calming and energizing; it is self-improving and non-judgemental; it is focused and mind expanding; it is priceless and I am glad to be on my journey with my instructor, my belly dancer, kick-fighter, mother, and mom-to-be.

… I can’t wait until next month!

What are you exploring along your life journey?!

MyLife2.0 - The Journey and Journal, Structure for Well-Being

Mindfulness has it’s privileges!

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I have three children. At any point in time, one tends to be an overachiever, one tends to be anxious or worried, and one tends to dwell with some resentment on the past…

The other day, after some morning chaos at home, I drove them to school and gave them an admittedly rambling lecture on “being present”. I said something like:

  • While we can reflect on the past and learn from our failures, we should not dwell on regrets about the past;
  • While we can be excited about the future and think about it’s opportunities, we should not miss enjoying things today because we are too busy worrying or being anxious about the future;
  • Instead, we need to try to stay focused on the present, what we are doing now, what we are feeling, being aware of the people and beauty around us;
  • Life doesn’t happen in the future or in the past but HERE and NOW, so we should try to stay focused on the here and now and truly enjoy every moment – we don’t want to miss it – we want to be present in our life!

I wasn’t proud. I felt like my ad lib description had been a bit rambling and had not likely landed for my kids. Then, to my amazement, my youngest, who I thought to have been barely listening from the backseat, said, “It’s like the peace reflection we said this week!”

“What?” I asked, surprised she might have heard let alone comprehended what I had said.

“Well, every morning this week on the school announcement system they have read a poem that says:

Yesterday is History,

Tomorrow’s a Mystery,

Today is a Gift,

That’s why it’s called the Present”

I picked my jaw up from the floor and swerved back onto the road!

My son confirmed, since he was the kid doing announcements at school, this was indeed the poem he had read over the loudspeakers all week. We were able to discuss ideas as a family of how to remind ourselves to be focused on the present and treat as many moments as possible “a gift”. We could appreciate big things and small in nature, be even more aware of the people around us, be conscious and aware of our feelings and our actions. It was a great and lively discussion!

It was yet another moment where I was so appreciative to be spending precious time with my children instead of rushing frantically to work.

Interestingly, when I dropped my kids off at school, my youngest asked me to walk her to her classroom. Being in the moment, I agreed and we walked hand-in-hand through the school grounds.

When we reached her classroom, I knelt down to say goodbye to her. She gave me a big hug and even a kiss, something she rarely does in public. Then, as she walked away she turned and called out “I love you, Daddy!” and continued on her way…

…Mindfulness certainly has it’s privileges!

hand-in-hand
Love is… being present with one another.

Structure for Well-Being

Why you can’t remember what you had for dinner last night!

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How many times have you said, “I can’t even remember what I had for dinner last night!”? You might worry that your memory is failing; worry that you are becoming absent-minded; worry that you have too much going on…

…it is actually much simpler than that and it is easy to fix.

Phone in to Dinner

You don’t remember what you had for dinner because you were barely present there in the first place! You were absent (thus, absent-minded) or thinking about other things (thus, scatter-brained) and missing the moment…

“How can you expect to remember something that you barely experienced the first time?!”

Slow down, take a breath before dinner or any other important moment with loved ones. Take a break from texting, emailing, phones, mail, TV, internet, regret (about the past), worry (about the future) and simply BE PRESENT. It is the best advice for each of us – busy executives, soccer moms, parents, young adults, and teenagers… take a breath, get in touch with your surroundings, your senses, realize you are in control of your mind.

Be Present at DinnerIf you need a reminder, write “BREATHE” at your place setting so you can sit and take two deep breaths before your meal. It is amazing what two deep cleansing breaths can do to clear your head, get in touch with your body, and focus your mind on the present moment. Life doesn’t happen in the past or in the future; life happens NOW so be aware and present in the moment!

Here is your challenge – and it is completely in your control:

For the next seven days, before each meal take a few slow breaths and stay present throughout the meal. You will have more meaningful conversations, time to reflect, will make better choices, and you will experience simple moments worth remembering — every day!

We live in The Circus of Life — and you are the ringmaster — it is time to take control!

MyLife2.0 - The Journey and Journal, Structure for Well-Being, Updates

Lean into the Joy and Whole-heartedness of Life

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Often times, therapists will say, “Lean into the discomfort” — at least, that is what I am told they say! Lean into the discomfort, embrace it, learn from it, and stretch yourself to see your blindspots.

Similarly, we must learn to “Lean into the Joy!” It is too common that when we are feeling true joy we make it a fleeting moment. We turn our back on it for any number of saboteurs: I am not worthy, I need to get back to work, I shouldn’t spend the time or money on this, I look foolish, and on and on.

I believe the purpose of life is to explore life; love, learn, and connect to others with joy.

Whole-Hearted Joy
Pursue Whole-Hearted Joy in Retirement

I believe the purpose of life is to explore life; love, learn, and connect to others with joy. For many of us, we must learn once again to lean in and explore joy, to explore life, since so much of our world has been filled and constrained by shame, a quest for certainty, pride, and even hatred as we go along what we believe is a set path.

A Researcher/Storyteller, Brené Brown, has been conducting research on the interwoven topics of shame, joy, and vulnerability and concluded that the key to joy and whole-heartedness is vulnerability. Exposing your emotions and being open to uncertainty – quite the opposite of what she expected when she looked to quantify and control these variables. In her books, including Daring Greatly,  she lays out 10 attributes we can cultivate to find whole-hearted living. Read through this list and score yourself – it is eye opening.

Whole-Hearted Living

  • Cultivating authenticity: Letting go of what people think
  • Cultivating self-compassion: Letting go of perfectionism
  • Cultivating a resilient spirit: Letting go of numbing and powerlessness
  • Cultivating gratitude and joy: Letting go of scarcity and fear of the dark
  • Cultivating intuition and trusting faith: Letting go of the need for certainty
  • Cultivating creativity: Letting go of comparison
  • Cultivating play and rest: Letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth
  • Cultivating calm and stillness: Letting go of anxiety as a life style
  • Cultivating meaningful work: Letting go of self-doubt and “supposed to”
  • Cultivating laughter, song, and dance: Letting go of being cool and always in control

Looking back over the past 20 years, while I dedicated much of my life and identity to climbing the corporate ladder, I would score myself 1 or 2 out of 10 on this list. Now, as I am slowing down, being more mindful, and challenging cultural paradigms, I am improving and have a long way to go. How much does our American culture of consumerism influence our daily focus? Letting go of our Ego is an important first step and it takes daily practice.

What can you do to pursue whole-heartedness and joy? Can you think of a simple step to do today? Tomorrow? Everyday? Share in the comments below so you can help others lean in!

Here are a few simple ideas to get started:

  1. Print out the list from above and put it in a visible place: (here is a simple word document of the Whole Hearted Living List)
  2. Call or write a friend for no reason other than to re-connect (and LISTEN to them, truly LISTEN to them)!
  3. Take a new class on a topic that you know NOTHING about (yoga is a great equalizer)
  4. Watch or listen to speakers on the topic: Click here for a 20 minute Brene Brown TED Talk or, if you want to relax with a simple movie, here is Wayne Dyer’s “The Shift”.
  5. Start a journal to capture your stream of consciousness… it is amazing to see what comes out.

Share some of your thoughts or ideas here in the comment section. Lean Into Joy and Whole-Heartedness: we may not have had time in the morning, but now in the afternoon of our lives, IT. IS. TIME.

MyLife2.0 - The Journey and Journal, Structure for Well-Being

Where have I been? Finding Happiness!

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It has been quite a while since my last post to The Joy of Retirement. Let me share why… for the past few months, I had been exploring a few business ventures and did not feel sincere writing about retirement with integrity while at the same time I was putting together pieces for a business.

I spoke with my very understanding business partner to say I need a FULL BREAK for a few more months before I contemplate any next steps even for a flexible work arrangement. She was very supportive and I am very excited for the next few months… you’ll see why.

B.O.B. and Rosie (2)During my first months of retirement, my wife and I have bought an RV, planning a 2 month family trip through national parks out west this summer (Big Rig Adventure). We had a wonderful Bar Mitzvah with our son, organized a big family cruise, helped improve our kids’ grades, I have done yoga, golf, basketball, swam, cooked, lost 15 pounds, and we have thrown the football with our kids more times than we have in their first 13 years!

During these months we have also challenged our paradigms on life priorities taking a refreshed look at consumer marketing, financial goals, and so much more.  Life is simple: Be Happy, Be Nice, and Enjoy Every Moment!

Thanks for letting me take a bit of time off but I am so glad to be back with all sincerity and integrity sharing my thoughts and tips for The Joy of Retirement.  I have a stack of notes, observations, and insights from my first 6 months and I look forward to us sharing and learning from each other. Add to that stack the insights I will get while on the 2 month family vacation in the RV and we have a fun conversation in the works!

For now, please enjoy this wonderful TED lecture from Shawn Achor. He breaks paradigms and shows how easy it can be to lead a happier life. Your happiness, in turn, can drive greater success, fulfillment, and even more happiness!

The video is too large to download directly onto this sight (or I currently lack the technical aptitude to do so) but you can use this link to see the video on YouTube:  Happiness  When you have 10 minutes, link through to watch it, then, come back to comment, share with others, and subscribe – let’s keep the conversation going at The Joy of Retirement!

Enjoy Life!

Structure for Well-Being

When Should I Retire?!

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The following is a guest post from Ed Burghard.  Ed has had a long and distinguished career at Procter & Gamble where he was named a Harley Procter Marketing Director, the highest honor for a P&G marketer.  He retired from P&G and now dedicates his time to his passions including his wife, his fitness, and  www.StrengtheningBrandAmerica.com.  Enjoy his guest post and feel free to comment below.

As Ed says, we can’t necessarily project this data beyond it’s original study population, however, as someone who retired at age 46 — it looks pretty good to me!

If you would like to submit a guest post, please use the Contact page to submit or inquire.  Enjoy…  MyLife2.0

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

In an earlier post I shared my thoughts on how big your nut needed to be in order to retire comfortably (“How Big is Your Nut?”).  In this post, I want to take a look at the question of at what age should you retire. We’ll make the assumption your nut is big enough.

As I was trying to answer the age question for myself, a good friend shared the results of an actuarial analysis conducted by Dr. Ephrem Chung on data from Boeing Aerospace.  In 2002, Dr. Sing Lin authored a paper entitled “Optimum Strategies for Creativity and Longevity” and shared conclusions based on these data.  In that paper, he concludes “people who take early retirements at the age of 55 tend to live long and well into their 80s and beyond.”

Does retiring early help extend life expectancy?
Does retiring early help extend life expectancy?

In all fairness, the appropriateness of projecting these data beyond the specific study populations has been challenged.  But, not withstanding, I think they give cause to pause.  At least they made me stop and take a critical look at the question of at what age I should retire.  The prospect of cutting my life short because I continued to work past age 55 was sobering.

As I thought about why work might shorten your life, I concluded the cause was likely stress related.  For many people, they find themselves at the zenith of their career by age 55.  As a consequence, their salary bumps up against the cap for their level and the only way management can justify continuing to pay a high salary is through increasing the workload.

Ultimately the situation is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  When the workload approaches (or exceeds) capacity stress levels increase.  Dissatisfaction from being put in a position where your performance suffers, leads to self-criticism and loss of identity/purpose at work.  This stress takes a toll that leads to a shortening of your life span.

grow-old-and-playThe famous playwright George Bernard Shaw once said – “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”  I think for many of us that risk is real.

You will need to self assess your work situation and decide if the factors that lead to above normal stress exist.  If they do, then it may make sense for you to decide to retire as early as your nut allows in order to maximize your longevity.

In my case, I concluded that I wanted to step away from full time work sooner rather than later and retired at age 57.  I didn’t step away from work altogether.  Instead, I created the www.strengtheningbrandamerica.com website to help share my professional knowledge with others.  But, now I work on my own time and for my pleasure rather than because I have to.  The choice also allowed me time to build a daily workout into my life and as a result, I have lost 50 pounds (which I know has positively contributed to the probability of increased longevity).

Again, the study data are by no means conclusive.  If you retire early it is not a guarantee of a longer life.  In fact, if your nut isn’t big enough and you worry every day about running out of money, you might actually create enough stress to shorten your life span.

But, I do recommend you at least look at the Boeing Aerospace actuarial data as one piece of the puzzle when deciding the right time to retire.

Ed Burghard

MyLife2.0 - The Journey and Journal, Structure for Well-Being

Retirement Well-Being Has a Structure

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The best life models are simple.  They help us see a simple structure for a complex situation.  Retirement Well-Being is no different.

In their book, What Color is Your Parachute for Retirement, John Nelson and Richard Bolles put forward a simple model for Well-Being in Retirement.  I find it powerful and compelling.  As with most simple models, you can dig deeper for more insightful nuances but the simple model provides a great framework for understanding.

They say there are three dimensions to our well-being:

  1. In our physical world, we want PROSPERITY;
  2. In our physical self, we want HEALTH;
  3. In our non-physical self, we want HAPPINESS.

Retirement Well-BeingIn a significant way, #1 (prosperity) and #2 (health) affect #3 (happiness).  Thus, the illustration puts prosperity and health as a foundation toward happiness.  There is much to explore with this model and in each dimension.

First, let us recognize that most of us have had a lop-sided stool.  That is we may have had a stronger focus on our career and earnings (prosperity) than our personal health or connections with others outside of work for happiness.  Or we may have focused so much on our personal fitness or happiness that our financial prosperity suffered.  In retirement, it is our opportunity to re-calibrate and bring balance back to the structure!  It starts with simple awareness.

Here at The Joy of Retirement, we will dive into each dimension over time — Prosperity, Health and Happiness — for now, let’s take a quick look so we can begin to understand the depth of each.

Prosperity – in today’s modern world, this is the primary way we ensure a state of well-being for our physical environment.  It consists of the “offense” (earnings) and “defense” (spending/saving) of our financial well-being.  Inputs include how much have you been able to earn, save, where you live (community and house), what type of car you drive, clothes you wear, and the type of life you lead with regard to earning, spending and control or harmony with your physical environment.

There are many choices we can make to affect our prosperity while working and in retirement.  Where we live (domestically or internationally), how we spend or save, the creativity we put toward our daily activities — each is impacted by and can impact our prosperity.  Prosperity is an area we are very excited to explore at The Joy of Retirement due to the many simple and creative ways to go with or against the cultural norms and enjoy life on a dime!

Health – this is our well-being related our physical body:  vitality, energy, strength, flexibility and endurance.  While I have worked for more than two decades in healthcare, I would argue I never paid enough attention to my own health!  Now, in retirement as I design MyLife2.0, I have the chance to focus on my health.  Even in my first weeks, I am exploring the cardio benefits of swimming, the exhilaration of biking, the social aspects of tennis, and the mindfulness of yoga.

I have chosen to explore my new “health” priority while being very mindful of “prosperity”.  By that I mean I have challenged myself to find health pursuits that are free or quite inexpensive intentionally for my overall retirement well-being.  My focus on health is also a pursuit which I can explore together with my wife — get your mind out of the gutter!  While pursuing health, and being mindful of prosperity, we can build happiness by doing things together and with our friends.

What better pursuit is there than the pursuit of happiness?!

Happiness – is about the social system we create for the well-being in our nonphysical self.  How strong is our relationship with ourselves and with others.  Do we have fun, enjoyment, a sense of purpose, or find moments of bliss?  It is our family, our relationships, our true friendships and the communities in which we participate.

Each of these dimensions affects the others.  Poor health can hurt our prosperity.  Not enough happiness can impact our health via depression.  And when pursued intentionally, each of these dimensions can strengthen the other.

Can we pursue paths to health and happiness that don’t drain or could even improve prosperity?  Certainly.

Can we ensure efforts toward prosperity have positive impact on long term health or happiness?  Certainly.

Retirement planning starts with dreams and creativity.
Contemplating MyLife2.0

For me, I had to wake up and step out of the corporate world to truly see my neglected dimensions in this simple model.  Now, I am excited to explore them, develop them, and grow on the journey.  I hope you will explore them with me and share your learnings as we all help each other.

Retirement itself and just the act of planning for retirement, is a chance to re-new, re-calibrate and re-focus on what is important.  I believe the model proposed by Nelson and Bolles is a great one to explore further.

What are your thoughts?!  Comment below or share with others! [contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]