In my socializing with different groups of people and listening to what the conversations are about, I realized that what I was hearing was what was valuable to them at this time. Most were mid-thirties, and the conversations were about family, vacations, and work. Most were already talking about "when..." When they retire, when the kids are out of school, when they could quit working, etc.
In thinking about those conversations and the lack of thinking through some of the statements made, I had to come back to my life and I felt very grateful that I can work or not, I have more than enough money to do what I want to, and I can choose a life experience that enhances all of what is going on with me.
I realized that the differences in the conversations were the values that have been set up or that they believe they need at this time of life. I was so focused on a career in my mid-thirties that retirement never came into the equation until much later in life. Even after retirement, I realized that what I needed was time to rest a bit or to take a sabbatical and then get right back into the game of life.
The quality of my lifestyle now is because I kept in the game long enough to get what it is that I wanted while I was still able to do the long stretches of work. Youth really is wasted on the young. I didn't realize while younger that I had more than enough energy to do so much more than I was doing.
I realize that the values were different when I was moving up the career ladder than what it is now. However, I am really grateful and can appreciate the lifestyle I have based on the values I decided I needed at the time. Thinking about life and what I wanted to accomplish early on has served me well. I encourage you to keep on while you can and think about a higher quality of life as you move forward into your later life.
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