Its 7 a.m. in the morning and the alarm goes. Ah! I want to go back to sleep. No work please! Many of us get that feeling, don’t we? (For those of you who don’t, believe me you guys are really lucky).
We have everything. A house, a car, food, clothes and plus we earn on an average a whopping 10-30 Lakh per year. Is this income less? Hell no!
Then why are we not happy despite getting so much money in hand? Is it because we don’t want to do what we are currently doing, but we have to, since we don’t have much of a choice? Is it because we didn’t follow our passion when we had the chance to and now we regret that?
‘Following your passion’ is quite appealing since it’s daring and quite simple (since you end up doing what you want to) Hah! Not that simple though. You need to have a pre-existing passion for that plus you need to be able to combine it with your job, so that you earn.
I think it seems a little tough now.
For people who cannot take the bold move they derive support from ’follow your passion is a crappy advice!’
That’s what deters them from doing what they like. Well they have their reasons and real logical ones.
They feel they can’t just take in an early retirement if they have a family to take care of. Following one’s passion doesn’t always bring in money. It is a huge risk and it’s rational only if you have a reliable source of supplementary income or a large amount of saving.
So these people end up working for money and these are the people who find it tough waking up to the sound of an alarm. Yes, we are talking about the majority of the crowd in India.
So we have spoken about how tough it is to start anew. The merits of doing the same are massive. Everyone is sick of the jobs they do, want a new life, a new beginning and a desire to discover themselves. All of this is possible once you gather all your courage and sign up for an early retirement.
But, what is stopping you to? If you are working I would advise you to work for a couple more years till you have enough savings (that way you don’t run out of money) and what’s next? Write a resignation. Take an early retirement. Here are a few remarkable things you can do instead
a) Read, read and read
Now, how many of you crib because you don’t get time to read.
Retirement=Plenty of time=Sitting with your favourite book and hot chocolate. Oh my. Didn’t you just wish for that?
b)Travel
How tough it was to get a leave letter signed by your boss. Oh how you hated it when he refused. You felt like quitting right away.
Now that you are your own boss: make a journey. See places you’ve never seen before. Go venture out. Nothing can hold you back this time.
c) Learn to sing/dance
This piece of advice is for the artistic youth. If the art of singing or dancing releases the ‘feel good’ chemicals’ go do it on a daily basis. Learn and master it.
d) Photography
Capture the world through your lenses. Share it with the world. Spread peace and happiness. Photography feels as if you travel back in time. Your camera is a mirror with memory.
If you love taking pictures, it’s time for you to make it your career.
e) Engage yourself in an NGO
Think about others. Make a difference. This is what we keep advising others to do but we seldom follow it. Why? We are too busy with our life. We long for the increase in the pay-check, promotion, a better house, a better car; we want to upgrade everything in our life. Are we satisfied? Nah.
Go help a kid. Teach. Raise and nurture a growing child. Help the environment, plant trees. There are a billion ways to bring about change. Start with one.
f) Learn a new language
Ever wondered how cool it would be to go to china and converse with the people there in Chinese or go to France and talk in French?
Take up a new language. Become multi-lingual.
g) Focus on your health
It’s time to get rid of those pills and exercise instead. Take up a sport you like and play regularly.
Keep up your stamina and remain healthy.
95 Per cent of the people procrastinate on their goals. Be different from them. Be a good human, let yourself grow and take risks.
Follow your gut. If it says enough, it’s time for you to quit your job.
Just do it. Waking up in the morning will no longer be troublesome. That’s guaranteed.
PS– This scheme could be accelerated if the government also extends its support. What is in it for the government?
Early retirement would imply creation of faster openings. The current retirement age is 60-62 years. So a person, even if he isn’t as productive as a youngster occupies a post till 60 years. An early retirement say around 30-35 would facilitate creation of job openings for the youth at a faster rate and a drop in the unemployment rate.
So with this the government is happy, the economy does well and the citizen is also satisfied because the time he served (as an employee) has reduced and now he can do everything that he missed when he was on his job. Plus he receives pension too.
Sounds interesting, huh?
