If you aim at nothing, it is sure that you will hit nothing. A failure to plan is a plan to fail. This seems to summarize our Fellowship's plan for the retirement of pastors. We never thought we would live this long. Surely, the rapture will happen in our short lifetimes. And since we are about souls and not future planning, we are where we are today. In the unlikely case that someone will read this, I want to share a plan for retirement that could easily be adopted by our Fellowship, or at least by those who ought to step down.
These are the Five Stages of Retirement by Devin Carroll
1. The Plan. To have a plan you need to have a plan. You need to think about this. You need to assess your circumstances. You need to look at your budget. You need to begin now.
2. The Honeymoon. This is the first stage once you have made the decision to pull the plug and actually retire. You begin to enjoy the freedom. All of that deferred gratification is being experienced. It is like a permanent vacation. Enjoy it while it lasts.
3. The Reality Check. Permanent vacation is not all that it is cracked up to be. It requires some introspection, to be honest with yourself. Are you bored? And you must deal with the changed relationships with those around you. Things have changed.
4. The Refocus Phase. When we begin to wonder, what can I or should I do now? What brings joy, satisfaction, fulfillment? Finding a balance in your time and energy. What is next for me to do?
5. The New Normal. This is the real goal of retirement. All of the roller-coaster rides up to now prepare us for where we will spend the rest of our lives. Now you begin to live again, not just exist. It will be different, but it will be satisfying.
All of life, from beginning to end, is full of adjustments. Life always goes through changes. No one ever prospered by fighting change and being rigid.
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