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So, today is my birthday. I'm 25 now. In one way you could say that I have 40 "productive" years left before retirement. 40 years to work, save money for pension and dream about the things I want to do when I finally get free, and have both the time and the money. I think that's a load of crap.
I don't really believe in retirement as an institution. Most people are happy to sit quietly on the ride that has been decided for them. They accept that the only way to live their lives is the norm of the society, which goes something like birth-childhood-studies-work-retirement-death. But who said that this is the way it should go?
If I remember correctly, the modern pension systems were born after industrial revolution to ensure that factory workers can support themselves after they become too old to continue working. This, first of all, means that the pension institution is relatively young, and the birth-childhood-studies-work-retirement-death pattern is not a norm in the history of humanity. However, I don't see people challenging it. I don't see people trying to improve it or rethink what would be a better way to celebrate human existence and to enjoy the limited time we can spend on this planet.
It's almost as if after you've spent your whole life making money for others, that you're allowed to enjoy the fruits of your labor and truly focus on your own interests and passions. How can it be, that the society expects this from you, and if you want to break the pattern and actually pursue your dreams younger, you will be frowned upon, thought as an eccentric or in worst case purely crazy.
As for me, I want to break the pattern. I need to do it. I don't know how, but figuring out ways to escape the 9-to-5 is on the back of my head constantly. It is one of the main motivators for me to go and study entrepreneurship in Helsinki School of Economics this fall. And by escaping the 9-to-5 I don't mean creating a life that would allow me to lie on the beach drinking margaritas until I grow old. That would become boring quickly. No, I mean getting control of my own life and doing the things I enjoy doing. If I could work on something related to e.g. photography and image manipulation - or snowboarding or motorcycles - I don't think I would even want to "retire," because that is something I already enjoy doing for free. The whole concept of retirement loses its value if you can figure out how to live your dream.
When retirement is not seen as freedom waiting at the end of a long narrow tunnel, you can start to think of ways to have the experiences you desire earlier in your life. Tim Ferriss talks about the concept of mini-retirement, which basically means taking an extended time such as few months or a year off-work to do whatever it is you want to do; travel the world, build a house, drive a motorcycle from Europe to Asia etc. Now, wouldn't it also be more enjoyable to have these experiences while you're still physically in good shape, instead of when you are over 65 and even playing checkers can make your heart pound in excitement.
So, what are your plans for life? Have you ever even thought that you don't have to live the life of birth-childhood-studies-work-retirement-death? It is just a pattern that has been very strongly imprinted on you by parents, teachers and society, but in no way can it be proclaimed as the "right" way to live a life.
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Comments
08.31.09
Hey, if you can swing it, by all means buck the trend.
But I think it's not just 'society' that has imprinted this pattern on you. It's biology. People fall in love. And get married. And have children (not necessarily in that order sometimes).
And when your life is suddenly tied up in other's lives, and you are responsible (partially or fully) for their well being, then all those grand plans go out the window.
Or they at least change.
It's great if you can find a job doing what you love. It's even better if you can make a living at it and support your wife and kids.
But reality is that often we take a job we can tolerate 5 days a week, that pays the bills and allows for some savings. Then we take our 'mini retirement' on the weekends and vacation.
08.31.09
If you can figure out how to avoid the 9-5 please share! I've been trying to figure it out for a while now.
And while I'm sure that one day I'll have some sort of job that I enjoy in a field I'm passionate about, it definitely doesn't make the monotonous 9-5, cubicle sitting, website blocking, rat race existence any easier.
Thanks for this though, totally captured my feelings on the socially acceptable life cycle. It helped me through yet another day of my 9-5 monotony, knowing there are others out there with the same struggles.
08.31.09
"They accept that the only way to live their lives is the norm of the society, which goes something like birth-childhood-studies-work-retirement-death. But who said that this is the way it should go?"
Biology, for the most part. If you move death earlier in any part of the progression, it does kinda abort everything else.
"As for me, I want to break the pattern. I need to do it. I don't know how, but figuring out ways to escape the 9-to-5 is on the back of my head constantly."
You could die young, but that's the ultimate buzzkill.
09.01.09
Can't argue against biology, but my main concern is that people accept this pattern of how life should progress without question. And even more sad is, that quite a few of them see retirement as the only time when they can truly enjoy and devote themselves to what they want to do.
In my opinion it is obvious, that modern society is not geared towards realizing the potential of an individual, and how to be happy and content with your life. After all, if we would be content we would not buy all that useless junk that companies are pushing to us.
In a grander perspective of things, I think that retirement is just one of the institutions that people accept without question. It has become something so permanent and unmovable, that people don't even think if there would be better alternatives.
I don't want to sound like an anarchist here, but if you think about democratic government (note, that I live in Finland, so my experience is related to the Finnish government) with its different elements such as the parliament, cabinet, presidents office etc., have you ever questioned, that maybe there are better ways to run a country? Maybe the form of government we have now is just something that has got stuck as time passed, and although decisions are made and laws are passed, maybe the process of doing so could be improved.
Businesses are evolving all the time - they need to, in order to survive - and new management practices are being researched constantly, so why aren't we seeing the same kind of evolutionary process in place when it comes to governments?
There is enough to discuss in this topic to warrant a blog post of its own, but here are some thoughts that have been going through my head.
09.01.09
>>This, first of all, means that the pension institution is relatively young, and the birth-childhood-studies-work-retirement-death pattern is not a norm in the history of humanity.
It means no such thing. Prior to the industrial revolution, people who survived to old age were looked after within the extended family and contributed what they could, for example helping look after children or doing light work around the house. The industrial revolution created widespread migration and weakened the traditional extended family, creating a need for the pension institution.
By the way, it's also a fallacy that everyone died young prior to the modern age. The average life expectancy was low because of high infant and childhood mortality. People who survived to adulthood often lived to a very ripe old age indeed.
09.02.09
I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm jumping on his bandwagon. I've always pondered this myself. Isn't there a better way than what we have been told? I mean, I want to make sure I can live comfortably when I get too old to move (lol) - but I also want to have fun now and do the things I am physically able to do NOW. And you are right - if I were to land a career in doing something I was truly passionate about - why would I bother to retire? Work less hours - YES. But retire? NO.
09.04.09
I like the concept of self employment and a braided career. That way you can wind down at certain times of your life - when you have a baby, if you're ill, if you want to travel around the world, as you get older etc. I agree that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. The traditional full-time job is all or nothing and part-time jobs can be hard to come by, but working for yourself or consulting or serving on boards are other routes to work the hours you want.
09.04.09
I've been thinking on this and here's my perspective:
You can't really do much about the birth/death thing, it's the time/space between that causes the problems. Since it's a completely blank canvas, and since many people see some spectacular failures, most people look to some kind of framework to construct their lives around. And for most, it works, allowing them to build their lives in a consistant fashion, with enough leeway to become unique individuals. For some, any kind of framework is to be rejected, in favor of a totally free form style. The problem is, is that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. The key is consistancy, in focus, purpose and effort. Going every which way, in an attempt to do everything at once, is doomed to failure with no real conpensating value.
09.05.09
JRandom42, excellent comment.
I have also found myself couple times in a situation that was completely chaotic, and the prospect of having routine in the form of steady working hours and no worry over whether or not I'd be able to pay the rent next month seemed like a dream at the time.
So yes, in some situations at least the 9-to-5 has its own advantages, but unless you can work with something you're passionate about or will stimulate your mind, sooner or later it will turn into a drudgery.
09.07.09
Your work doesn't have to be your passion. It can make it possible, but you don't have to make it your living.
Harry Chapin had the best take on this:
"Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest.
And of all the cleaning shops around he'd made his the best.
But he also was a baritone who sang while hanging clothes.
He practiced scales while pressing tails and sang at local shows.
His friends and neighbors praised the voice that poured out from his throat.
They said that he should use his gift instead of cleaning coats.
But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.
His friends kept working on him to try music out full time.
A big debut and rave reviews, a great career to climb.
Finally they got to him, he would take the fling.
A concert agent in New York agreed to have him sing.
And there were plane tickets, phone calls, money spent to rent the hall.
It took most of his savings but he gladly used them all.
But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.
The evening came, he took the stage, his face set in a smile.
And in the half filled hall the critics sat watching on the aisle.
But the concert was a blur to him, spatters of applause.
He did not know how well he sang, he only heard the flaws.
But the critics were concise, it only took four lines.
But no one could accuse them of being over kind.
(spoken) Mr. Martin Tanner, Baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his
Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately
his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards.
His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it
consistently interesting.
(sung) Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.
He came home to Dayton and was questioned by his friends.
Then he smiled and just said nothing and he never sang again,
excepting very late at night when the shop was dark and closed.
He sang softly to himself as he sorted through the clothes.
Music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
(And) he did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole."
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