Zero Gravity Retirement

I don’t think Sir Isaac Newton was thinking about retirement when he was sitting under an apple tree contemplating the reason for an apple hitting him on the head. After all, he was only 23 when he began formulating the basis for gravity. However, we can apply some of his science to the world of retirement planning.

In the simplest terms, gravity is an invisible force that pulls objects toward each other. Objects with more mass have more gravity but as two objects get further apart, the force weakens. In other words, the closer objects are to each other, the stronger their gravitational pull is.

Similar to gravity, the concept of retirement is also invisible and pulls people towards it. Most people and professionals don’t ever think about it like this, but we can’t touch or hold retirement. There is literally nothing there. Which means, we have to take extra steps to make sure you put things in place so when you make the transition, you’re not just floating around in a zero-gravity retirement. 

Reality is, work is a constant force in people’s lives that pulls on them in a variety of different ways. When this is suddenly gone, it can leave a void they aren’t sure how to replace and cause them to feel alone or isolated. Unfortunately, according to The Journals of Gerontology study, one in four adults over the age of 65 is socially isolated, with too little contact with others. This is one reason why it’s so important to develop a strong social network before you retire.

Now, to be honest, when we watch astronauts floating around, weight-less in space, it looks like a ton of fun. After all they’re not tied down to anything, just flying around with complete freedom from the gravitational pull of the earth. But a zero-gravity situation can look and feel very different in retirement. Yes, you can float around and do what you want, when you want. However, like being in outer space, in some situations it can feel like you are not only a million miles from the people and places you love, but that you are also confined to certain things and not always able to do the things you used to do or enjoy.

Additionally, we know the laws of gravity state that it gets weaker with distance. So, the further apart objects are from each other, the weaker their gravitational pull is. 

Think about this in terms of friends at work, health-related habits, and how people spend their time. The further they get away from work and co-workers, the higher the likelihood is that those relationships will become weaker. It’s similar with a person’s health and daily activities. The further away they are from acting and feeling healthy, the weaker the pull will be to get healthy.

In any case, the gravity of the situation is that now more than ever, it’s important to develop non-financial plans for retirement to help feel grounded, purposeful, and right-side up throughout retirement so you don’t end up lost in space.