By John Ardill
But first, a note from Ian Ardill:
When I grow up, I want to be like my dad. He has been so strategic about retirement, about not hanging up his cleats, so to speak, and not letting himself go. I am so proud of him and I am proud to introduce this special contribution from him – on how he is not just surviving, but thriving in retirement. Here is his story:
When I stopped being active in this business on a daily basis, a vacuum appeared in my life. I felt lost. In order to be happy and complete as a human being, I recognized that my focus had to change.
With more than 40 years of experience helping clients prepare for retirement, I was able to observe many journeys – and so I gained some helpful insight into the subject. Here is how I would summarize what I saw: managing retirement has traditionally been all about financial planning. The psychological dimensions weren’t usually part of the package. But today, given our longer life spans, assuring financial security is only one element in creating a retirement plan – and in our knowledge economy, it is perverse to let healthy, mentally active leaders feel they no longer have contributions to make.
My business was my identity and my financial security. I thought of my clients as being in a tribe and it was my responsibility to direct them though various parts of their lives. They showed me how life really was, and they broadened my perspective. What a privilege it was, servicing you for 40 years plus.
While I was working, my major concerns were to stay healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually, and to keep my family safe and provide the lifestyle that I wanted for them. Decades into that process, the subject of succession planning came up. It can be extremely challenging to pass the torch to someone else – but I got lucky. Ian wanted to take over my business, and wow, he is doing a great job at that. Congratulations Ian!
Because of Ian and Darlene, I had and still do have the peace of mind that they are doing an excellent job. That is important to me: knowing that you are being looked after professionally and with the same type of philosophy.
Now the rubber has hit the road. I am retired except for mentoring Ian and anyone else who wants to listen.
I have been on this Earth for 74 years. Like all of us, I have had my ups and downs in life. Why is it that we learn more and become better people recovering from the downs rather from the ups? Don’t get me wrong: I like the ups and want to avoid the downs as much possible.
The Five Ways
But I had a dip right after retiring – and what did I do about it? Joanne and I started by selling our house and taking off for nine months. I think that was one of the best things we could do. It broke the routine and forced me to figure out how I was going to spend my time without driving everyone nuts. I have a few more aches and pains in recent years, and I needed to search for a new purpose in life. I was keeping myself busy with golf, tennis, mountain biking and reading – but for me that was not enough. Something was missing. I looked for exactly what was missing, and I came up with these five things to address them:
1. Meditate each day for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Start a fitness routine that was compatible with my age and ability.
3. Start focusing on full body harmony. That led to me practicing Qi Gong (“chee-gong”).
4. Eat well and reduce alcoholic beverages. That has been working some of the time!
5. Invest in personal relationships. There is no better place to start than home, spending time with friends and family. Close personal relationships, more than money or a wish for celebrity, are what keeps me happy (see this story on a famous Harvard study about happiness). It is the little things that get me up in the morning. Walking the dog, (we are going to get a dog for this reason), enjoying coffee and the newspaper, having dinner with my Joanne – that’s what makes me happy, and they cost next to nothing. I believe that adults with strong social support have a reduced risk of many significant health problems, including depression, high blood pressure and an unhealthy body mass index (BMI). Older adults with a rich social life tend to live longer than those who are more isolated, too (see this fascinating TED Talk on the subject).
These five points ended up being a big commitment. Because it takes hours each day and I am not perfect. Joanne has been a tremendous help, being on board with this routine. It seems to be working and I am not begrudging the time.
Up For a Call?
I am in search of volunteer work and am keeping my eye out for an opportunity. With all those fellow retirees out there, we should start a regular web call to talk about retirement challenges. One of the most interesting things about human beings is that we are all different and have diverse ways to cope with life. If you want to give a web call a try, just let me know.
Be well and Happy Holidays!
John Ardill
Founder and Mentor
Ardill Group
Direct: 1 416 400 5882
Office: 1 905 907 7000
