The Latin phrase Carpe Diem (which is literally “seize the day” - meaning go for it, or take a leap of faith, or make the most of each moment) takes on fresh meaning with the release of some new statistics.
According to an Environics poll the following results were what people planned to do in their retirement. Two groups were examined. The first group was still working and was age 40 or older. The second group was already retired and was generally age 55 or older.
The 40+ workers planned to travel in retirement. 48% of them said travel was a major focus for retirement. However, when the retirees were interviewed (those who actually were retired), only 24% of them were interested in travel. The primary concern of the retirees was health. In fact, they were almost twice as concerned about health (26% vs. 14%) than the younger working bunch. Interestingly the retirees were not very concerned about money.
Only 4% of them were concerned about having enough money compared to 13% of the working group. The retirees were also not very interested in rest, relaxation and leading a quiet life. Only 5% of them saw this as a priority while twice as many in the working group thought it would be a priority in retirement. The working group also looked forward to sports and physical activity in retirement, but the retirees were only half as interested in this.
The younger group wanted to live somewhere nice, warm, and peaceful when they retired but the people who were retired didn’t hold this as a priority at all. So what can we gather from all this? Perhaps if you are young and healthy you should do your traveling now. Be wise with your money but don’t get all bent out of shape over it – if you are wise with it when you are young, you’ll have enough when you are old.
If you are over-worked and stressed when you are young then take some time off and go to that warm, peaceful place to rest and relax, because you probably won’t want to when you are old and in poorer health. Seize the day and enjoy each day to the fullest! Live your dreams now. Each stage of life has its own dreams and desires and twenty years from now you may not have the same wants and needs as you do today.
Carpe Diem quam minimum credula postero (seize the day, never trust the next).
