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The peculiar psychology of retirement

At first blush, retirement set you free to do whatever entertains you. You are free of work responsibilities. And you deploy to a marvelous place like Mexico to relax and spin out your promise of ultimate freedom.

The only planing for retirement was thought to be financial. You left everything else of your career life behind, except that box of odd desk ornaments you were requested to please take with you.

But soon after becoming a retiree, weird things start to occupy your mind, such as orders from your built-in impulses to do something with all the new free time. This is unexpected and leads to reexamining your life, starting with why you retired in the first place.

An article in AARP’s August issue talks about retirement as a time of reflection, a time of assessment of what we achieved during our careers —a sense of “reimagining our lives,” which is about all the decisions in life that led you to become an insurance adjuster. And no matter how many jokes you told, nobody liked you. Now, in your late sixties, you think the performing arts might get you the applause you’re looking for.

Matters get worse. Your senses are failing. You find that you are putting ear drops in your eyes.

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