The Retirement Newsletter: Retirement as changing seasons — retirement is not the autumn but the summer

Issue Number: 175 (28) — how do you view retirement?

Photo by Author — retirement is the summer, a time to bloom

Welcome

Welcome to issue 175 (28) — retirement as a season.

Some say retirement is the autumn of our lives, but I think it’s the summer.

Read on to find out why I think it is the summer, and so should you.

Retirement as a season

If we think of the stages of life as the seasons of the year, it’s common to find people thinking of retirement as the autumn — the season of harvest and decline, when the vibrant days of summer fade into autumn.

Why autumn?

Autumn is associated with the slowing down of life, a gentle winding down towards winter, which can be viewed as the final stage of life. However, considering retirement as the ’autumn of life’ is misleading and possibly harmful.

I argue that we should consider our retirement as the beginning of summer — a time of warmth, growth, and endless potential — a season not of retreat but of rejuvenation, reinvention, and rediscovery.

By shifting our mindset, we can see retirement as an exciting opportunity to fully embrace the life we’ve built and the passions and interests we’ve always wanted to pursue.

That is how I view my retirement.

Summer is a Time of Abundance

Think back to your favourite summer memories — which most likely come from childhood.

Summers were filled with long days, bright sunshine, travel, adventure, and the feeling of freedom that comes with knowing you have the time to explore, experiment, and enjoy life without the constraints of the school day.

Summer was a time when I felt energetic and alive. It was and still is a season of abundance.

Retirement should be like summer — a time rich with experiences and fun.

The hard work of building a career, raising a family, and meeting responsibilities are behind us, and we can now enjoy life. Retirement is a time to open up and pursue hobbies, travel, spend time with friends and family, and start new ventures that would have been impossible during our working years.

Unlike the long, busy hours of the working world, retirement gives us the freedom to design our days. The clock no longer dictates our life; we decide how to spend our time.

To me, this newfound freedom feels a lot like summer, when days stretched out with the promise of opportunity and adventure.

If you approach retirement with the perspective that this is a new summer, you’ll find that it offers endless possibilities for enjoyment, creativity, and personal growth.

Summer is the Time for New Adventures

One of the most exciting aspects of summer is the spirit of adventure. The days are long, and there’s a sense that anything is possible.

Retirement offers the same chance to embark on new journeys, perhaps ones you never thought possible in earlier stages of life. It’s when we can travel to new places and learn a new language. It can be that time to write that novel we have always wanted to write, although it is not a novel but a textbook for me. Retirement is the perfect time to start these adventures.

Many people I have spoken to fear retirement will bring boredom, a sense of purposelessness, or even a loss of identity. Many people have told me I will get bored when I retire — far from it. I have too many things to do and places to go. It is an incredibly exciting time.

I think this fear of boredom is often linked to the idea that retirement is the autumn of life — a period of decline rather than expansion. However, if you approach retirement as a new summer, you’ll see it has so much more to offer — so many opportunities. But it’s up to you to take them.

Summer is a Time for Connection

Summer is also a time when relationships flourish. We gather with family and friends for parties and events, take long walks, and enjoy the outdoors together. With more time available, we can prioritise deepening connections with family, reconnecting with old friends, or even building new friendships.

In many ways, retirement offers a chance to enhance the social connections that may have taken a back seat during the busier periods of life. We can focus on strengthening our community through volunteer work and joining social clubs. We can reengage with lost interests and use them to meet new people.

If retirement is thought of as the summer, as opposed to autumn, it becomes a time to strengthen relationships and friendships and for creating a fulfilling and enriching social life.

Summer is a Time of Personal Growth

We often associate personal growth with the early years of our lives — the years of education, career-building, and raising a family. However, personal development can happen at any stage of life, and retirement offers an incredible opportunity to focus on self-development. Just as summer brings flowers to full bloom, retirement can be when our passions, talents, and interests reach their fullest potential.

Retirement allows us to focus on the things that truly matter to us, and many retirees find that they experience a greater sense of purpose and fulfilment. I know I am.

Embracing the Summer of Life

If we reimagine retirement as summer, we begin to see it not as a winding down but as a blossoming. It’s a time to embrace the richness of life, savour the experiences we have longed for, and create new memories that will carry us forward.

So, don’t see your retirement as autumn — a time of slow decay — see it as summer, the season of light, freedom, and abundance — a time to enjoy all that life has to offer.

What’s your view?

What is your view? Do you view retirement as the summer or autumn of life? Do you think I am writing complete nonsense? Please let me know in the comments.

This week in the Retirement Hustle

This week in The Retirement Side Hustle, I explain how I record faceless videos.

In the video, I remind the viewer about some of my earlier videos on video production for side hustles:

• Writing a video script — the beginning

• Scripting — The Use of Mind Maps

• Using Mind Maps for Video Scripting

• Planning videos with PowerPoint and Apple Keynote

• Faceless Video Creation — from prompt to final slides

And in this week’s video, I show how I bring it all together in the recording process.

The Retirement Side Hustle Newsletter is subscription-based. However, each video comes with a free minute or so that allows you to confirm the content, and if you take out a free subscription, you get full access to one edition.

Travel — Nostalgia Corner

This week, stories from some trips out of Luang Prabang, Laos, and into the surrounding, stunningly beautiful countryside:

• Laos — Tour — Exploring the countryside around Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos — The start of my countryside tour.

• Laos — Tour — Tham Ting (Tam Ting)/Pak Ou (ถ้ำติ่ง) Caves, Laos — the lower cave — First stop, the lower caves and a boat ride across the Mekong River.

• Laos — Tour — Tham Ting (Tam Ting)/Pak Ou (ถ้ำติ่ง) Caves, Laos — upper cave — From the lover caves, I moved onto the upper.

• Laos — Tour — Ban Xanghai (ບ້ານຊຽງຮາຍ): Liquor & Silk Village, Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos — Exploring a village. Would you drink that?

• Laos — Tour — Kuang Si Waterfall (ນ້ຳຕົກຕາດ ກວາງຊີ), Laos — the lower pools — Visiting the lower pools — simply stunning.

• Laos — Tour — Kuang Si Waterfall (ນ້ຳຕົກຕາດ ກວາງຊີ), Laos — the upper pools — Visiting the upper pools. More wow!

Next week, I continue my tour through some of the Luang Prabang, Laos countryside.

Next week

Next week, in issue 176 (29), I look at what has changed in my retirement.

Thanks

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Until next time,

Nick

PS: If you would like to contribute a story, give advice, or provide anything else to the newsletter, please get in touch.