Reflections from My First Day of Retirement

In one sense I’m starting this blog too early; in another I’m far too late. When I first decided to take this trip (about 4 years ago), I figured the blog would start when the trip did, serving as a chronicle of the places I see and the people I meet. But about 8 months ago, I was opening up to a friend about the hang ups and roadblocks that had delayed this trip, and he convinced me that those challenges might be more impactful to share than the trip itself – the journey to get to the journey if you will. Photos and stories of someone doing something epic are cool but tend to feel disconnected and distant from our daily lives. Seeing an average person make an intentional choice for adventure over comfort might just give someone else the nudge they need to take a leap and make a big life change. 

Following that conversation, I went home and typed up half a draft blog post then proceeded to sit on the idea for the next 8 months because “life got busy”. But today I’m finally coming good on my promise and posting to my blog for the first time. Once I actually start the trip (planning for early May), I anticipate my posts will be pretty structured and more externally focused on the places I’m visiting and the people I’m meeting (and also much shorter than this post). Until then though, my posts will be more free form and introspective, reflecting on the path I took to get here and the steps I’m taking to prepare for the motorcycle odyssey. With that disclaimer out of the way, here’s where I’m currently at. 

Today was officially my first day of being unemployed. I was expecting to feel a bit off not going into work, but it honestly felt pretty natural. The only significant reminders were an email about an upcoming deadline for making a decision on health insurance and my slack account being deactivated. The excitement and feeling of freedom hasn’t worn off yet, but I am already getting the sense that I need to implement some structure and discipline if I’m going to accomplish everything I need to in the next few weeks in order to leave by my target date. Since I don’t have much to share from my first day off the job, here are some thoughts I jotted down last Thursday night, ahead of my final day of work:  

The reality that I’m actually leaving just hit, after I finished my final project and started packing up my rarely used work-from-home set up. Over the past few years, the anticipation of my final day kept me going through some tough times. Since putting in my notice though, I’ve found myself trying to slow down the clock. I’ve found many of the frustrations that have worn on me the past 6 years have faded in importance. I’ve worried less about meeting deadlines and made intentional efforts to reconnect with coworkers I haven’t seen in a while. I’ve stopped worrying so much about other’s perceptions and whether or not I am being “professional” enough – I’ve tried out 4-5 different styles of facial hair in the past 2 weeks (after keeping a pretty uniform beard most of the past 5 years), and over the past few days, I’ve started every meeting off with a joke. I’ve found that putting myself out there in these ways has helped me connect more with some coworkers in 2 weeks than I did over the preceding 6 years. 

Looking back on the past 3 weeks (and the 6 years before that), there are two lessons I don’t want to forget as I start the next chapter: 

1. A focus on the future destroys our ability to appreciate the present. For much of the past 6 years, I put my head down and just tried to hold on until the next milestone. And that’s what it felt like I was doing – just holding on. Over the past few weeks, I’ve realized that there is so much life and enjoyment to be had in the present – even in objectively difficult circumstances – if we focus on savoring the moment instead of willing it to end. 
2. People respond to openness with openness. If you’re looking for genuine connection, the best thing you can do is put yourself out there and break with convention – it will inspire others to do the same and be vulnerable with you. Being guarded and trying to conform to expectations will encourage others to do the same in their interactions with you.