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:
- In our physical world, we want PROSPERITY;
- In our physical self, we want HEALTH;
- In our non-physical self, we want HAPPINESS.
In 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.
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]
