theshitdetector

It was a dinner event. I was wearing a black t-shirt, as I always do, and had two fitness tracking watches. The event was a farewell dinner for one of our colleagues who had been working at our company for 20+ years.

During a conversation about a million-dollar watch, I cracked a joke about what was wrong with my $200 Garmin watch, but it seemed like no one got the joke! The dinner went fine, a fancy buffet, whatever, right? However, I found myself constantly having to defend or explain myself after every comment or sentence, so I thought, “screw it.” I ended up spending the rest of the evening in near silence.

Then something strange happened!

In that moment, I wanted to hide myself, to escape to the ends of the earth. Now, one might think I desired a retirement home, but I couldn't care less. I was busy planning a future, crafting a life that I found interesting (for lack of a better word!).

It got me thinking: what's wrong with renting a house? Does the idea of retirement not work for me, or is it the notion of deferring life?

But then it occurred to me, what if someone needed a sh*t detector? Maybe the traditional idea of retirement doesn't align with my values or aspirations. Maybe there's nothing wrong with exploring alternatives like renting a house.

But working for someone just to retire? Maybe you need to re-tire? It's time spent serving someone else for a promised outcome, which offers some form of delusional security. Maybe it's not good security, maybe it's false security. The money you make by the end of your service is barely enough (that's after you adjust for inflation and a bunch of other factors). I think the biggest cost is health. No one stays healthy forever, but if you don't prepare for it, your health will eat you up (probably your cash too!).

Plus, why would anyone want to stop working? What's the point anyway? Maybe you're not enjoying work, or the work you're doing is not the work you always wanted to do. The accumulation of errors catches up with you, and then you find no way of turning back. It's too late.

I like to think of work as a fun adventure.

I like to think of it as an energizing, value-adding thing. Something that I do every day, a form of play.

I like to think of it as problem-solving, inspiring adventure that allows me to explore the depths of the ocean and invade space.

I like to think of work as something that keeps me moving: running, dancing, jumping.

Maybe that's why a lot of people are quitting their jobs because they see the other end of the spectrum. They project the future, and it's a long, dark tunnel with no light. It's just status-seeking, pleasing titles. The value is not added; it's subtracted.

Maybe the new generation wants to find a purpose for the hours, days, and years spent working for somebody else. We're not able to see the value of working for somebody else, especially if work is going to produce only one thing: a retirement home.

Maybe we need new hope.

Something to look forward to. To try to live again or maybe just live now.

Maybe we need to re-tire.