Fourth Commandment of “Retirement”

IV.  Make No Obligations

For 33 years, I’ve lived a life of obligations.   Years upon years of meetings to attend, “Can’t Miss Conferences” places I absolutely HAD to be.  Reports to produce.  PowerPoints to present.  Analysis to conduct. Meetings to attend.  Conference calls to dial into.  Commutes to drive.  People to see. Flights to make. Phone calls to answer.  Emails to send.  Business to conduct. Executive Summaries To Present.  Contracts to negotiate.  Deadlines to meet.

You get it.  It’s Called Work.

33 Years.

As my fourth commandment, I’m instructing myself to avoid making any obligations within the first 12 months of retirement.  I don’t want to “Have To” do anything for a while.  I think I’ve earned that.  It’s time to decompress.  I had to smile when Wealthy Doc left this comment on my “100 Days To Freedom” post last week.  I’d already written this section by the time he left this comment, and it was as if he was reading my mind.

So, for the next 12 months, I’m done with obligations.  If you just made me an “offer I couldn’t refuse”, and I sent you this post with “See Commandment #4”, you now know what I meant, and why I meant it.  Call me in June of 2019, maybe I’ll be more willing to talk with you about that opportunity then.  Or maybe not.  Ah, Freedom!

SOURCE: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ten-commandments-of-retirement/