# Do you ever look back and think how the heck did I do all the things I did?



## Vinny (Aug 31, 2018)

Only retired two months. Have you ever looked back on your life and thought how in heck did I do that or achieve the things you did? I find myself doing that and cannot imagine doing them again at this age and time of my life. Now, just the thought of getting up at 6 am and commuting to work seems like something I can never do again. Same with travel. Not interested in catching flights and sleeping on airplanes to arrive in some country late on night and find my hotel. Then wake up and drive to two other countries in Europe during the day and night only to wake up forgetting which country I am in. 

Then there are the things I took from bosses that would now result in a nasty confrontation. I also think of my previous work friends and picture myself in their shoes, 30+ something years old and retirement long way off. I feel the beginning of an anxiety attack when I think of being so far from retirement and have to remind myself that I am set for life, and never will have to work again.

Most of all the ambition and competitive I used to have that drove me to be successful, is gone. I no longer like competition and have no desire to do anything bug relax and take life as it comes. I find that I start to get anxiety at times, not because I am retied but because I think I am not. I dream of being a worker bee again and having to do all those things every day of the week for decades to come and I wake up glad that it is only a dream.

Does any of this sound familiar?


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## Pappy (Aug 31, 2018)

Vinny. At 80 years old, I often look back at some of the things I did over the years and wonder how the hell did I get away with that. My greatest accomplishment was having a wonder partner and raising three great kids.
I had a limited education so at times I worked 2-3 jobs at once. Some of the crap I use to take from previous bosses were unbearable, but I kept my mouth shut because I needed the work.
i too, sometimes dream that I’m on my bread route again and wake up exhausted. Then I realize it was a dream and feel so darn glad that’s behind me. 
I don’t do much now, because of health reasons, but enjoy everyday to the fullest. People ask me, ‘would you do it all over again? PROBABLY. :sentimental:


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## ClassicRockr (Aug 31, 2018)

Super glad I gave up the farming life, around hogs, after I graduated from high school. But, super glad I got involved in rodeo and bought a horse. Did work at an equestrian center, drive a tractor and use a manure spreader. That wasn't too bad. Also worked as a Show Ring Coordinator (livestock) at a large county fair. That was fun, but lots of hours. Miss my "drumming" days, but still listen to my Classic Rock and love it.

When I think back, I have no idea how I ever worked, in the Navy and up to 1989, without having a computer.


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## hollydolly (Aug 31, 2018)

No..not really..because apart from a few health issues that sometimes slow me down ..I can basically do everything I did back in the day.

I can still run, even  climb if necessary... ( although I have to be careful due to a back issue) I do everything at speed...  Everyone asks me where I get my energy from, but I've always had it....please God may it continue for a long time yet.


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## Bullie76 (Sep 1, 2018)

I do more now than when I worked. All I did back then was work and played golf on weekends.


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## Falcon (Sep 1, 2018)

I always  wanted to fly;  so I joined the air force and  learned  how.  Made  it  my military career and  today

I hold  a commercial single/multi  engine  pilot's  license.


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## dkay (Sep 1, 2018)

All the time. I think of climbing canyon walls when I was in high school in Colorado without any ropes or safety gear-I'm amazed one of us didn't get hurt or killed. Work especially reminds me of how hard it was  when we had to write everything by hand, when we seemed to do twice as much work in half as much time-no computers, no disposable anything, none of the modern achievements that are available now. NO PERSONAL PHONES ON THE JOB. 

It's all I can do to keep from saying, "why, when I was your age I (fill in the blank). It's difficult though. Maybe in another ten years, I'll do it.


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## RadishRose (Sep 1, 2018)

It's better than looking back and realizing a lot of missed opportunities.


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## Marie5656 (Sep 1, 2018)

*I am a relative young'un here, at 64. Been retired a couple years now. My question has often been "WHY did I do some of that stuff?"*


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## GeorgiaXplant (Sep 1, 2018)

Retired at 50. Went back to work and retired again at 62. Went back to work and retired again at 66. Went back to work and retired again at 75. Took one job for one client for two hours once a week and FINALLY retired for good, I think, just a few months ago. At one time, I had a full-time job with mandatory overtime and worked three part-time jobs as well...all while being a single mother with three kids and carrying a 12-hour course load in college. 

I. DID. WHAT???? There are only 24 hours in a day. Wherever on earth did I find the time? And when did I sleep? Back then I must have looked like I'd been rode hard and put up wet. Or I must have looked like, as my daddy would have said, 40 miles of bad road. Beyond haggard.

However, I did have a live-in housekeeper/nanny. That made it a bit easier.

Would I do it all again? Probably. But I'm glad I don't have to.


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## Gary O' (Sep 1, 2018)

I’ve always pushed myself
To the edge…and over a few times
Never for money
Money happened…sometimes

Now?

I still push myself
But for everday things

No regrets on my earlier life
Glad I did what I did when I did it
Taught me a few things I apply now

I think back

I know 'how'

'Why' is a bit fuzzy


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## Shalimar (Sep 1, 2018)

A vocation, occasionally an obsession, drove me to endure/achieve whatever was necessary in order to serve, to make sense of a past that  torments me still. Ten years I laboured in and out of acadaemia to fulfill that promise.  Since then,  I speak for the children who suffered and died in a silent war, waged in Stalag Maple 

Bay, I stand  for the broken and abused, for the prisoners of tortured minds, caged in an invisible jail. I bear witness that  it is possible to rise up yet again out of the pit  and live a 

meaningful life, although the price is high.  For every one of us who refuses to surrender our humanity in the face of evil or despair,  no matter the agony, a bright light shines in the darkness. Even knowing that it is highly probable I shall die of CPTSD 

rather than age or infirmity, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. How could I not?  Out of Hell have come the greatest blessings of my life, and I am grateful. For me, at least, love and compassion conquer all. Namaste.


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## fmdog44 (Sep 2, 2018)

I started to take life (money and retirement) seriously at 32 yrs. of age after a life of partying and chasing women. I knew the day would come so I planned my money accordingly unlike many people. I am very happy I did. The performance of the stock market for the past nine years certainly has been sweet and a gift to many our age.


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## DaveA (Sep 2, 2018)

Not really - -because I don't think that I did more or less than most of the folks around me.  Most of us have individual "things' that happened to us, or we chose to do them, but other than that my life has been pretty uneventful.  Extremely happy and satisfying with a large and close family (to this day) but nothing to shout  or feel sad  about.


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## OneEyedDiva (Sep 2, 2018)

I do. I started college at the age of 37 while raising my son on my own and working a full time job. I maintained a 4.0 average almost the entire time. I'll admit my work was not challenging (during that time) nor too hard. The college courses took more out of me than work, especially that Anatomy & Physiology class. My son used to come home and say "Ma are you ever going to take your head out of that book?!" I also taught music part time for awhile, though not at the same time I attended college. I accomplished those things while dealing with a heart condition (A-fib) that used to make me pretty sick sometimes.


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## Sunny (Sep 8, 2018)

I don't think I did anything particularly amazing, though what I did in my younger years certainly took a lot more energy than I have now. I look at my children and grandkids, and they have an enormous amount
of energy, much more than I have now. But probably not more than I had back in the day. Assuming you're lucky enough to have good health, it's really all just a function of what age you are.


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## fmdog44 (Sep 8, 2018)

If you don't have some regrets you never left the womb.


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## Harp Angel (Sep 9, 2018)

I often reflect on that thought.  I did so many different things when I was younger and was always wishing I could do even more. But I don't think I enjoyed everything as much as I do now that I am retired. I do less activities but I seem to enjoy them so much more because I have the time now.


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## RadishRose (Sep 9, 2018)

Harp Angel said:


> I often reflect on that thought.  I did so many different things when I was younger and was always wishing I could do even more. But I don't think I enjoyed everything as much as I do now that I am retired. I do less activities but I seem to enjoy them so much more because I have the time now.



That makes sense.


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## fitnesswithcindy (Sep 17, 2018)

Yes! Particularly the period when my daughter was finishing her last year of high school. There was regular academics, extra-curricular school stuff, all of the college application process and preparations, activities upon activities, senior year events, etc. etc. Oh and attempting to have a life on top of that--HA HA!t I was a single parent and working full time and so tired I could barely keep my eyes open some nights. I look back and think how on earth did I do it.


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## Camper6 (Sep 17, 2018)

Vinny said:


> Only retired two months. Have you ever looked back on your life and thought how in heck did I do that or achieve the things you did? I find myself doing that and cannot imagine doing them again at this age and time of my life. Now, just the thought of getting up at 6 am and commuting to work seems like something I can never do again. Same with travel. Not interested in catching flights and sleeping on airplanes to arrive in some country late on night and find my hotel. Then wake up and drive to two other countries in Europe during the day and night only to wake up forgetting which country I am in.
> 
> Then there are the things I took from bosses that would now result in a nasty confrontation. I also think of my previous work friends and picture myself in their shoes, 30+ something years old and retirement long way off. I feel the beginning of an anxiety attack when I think of being so far from retirement and have to remind myself that I am set for life, and never will have to work again.
> 
> ...



Yes and the worst is bosses.  Without bosses work would be a pleasure and much more would be accomplished in my opinion.

How they get to be bosses is beyond me because some of them are completely absence of people skills.

When I moved to another job I was pleasantly surprised by my staff who sent me a card hand written which said.  "We wish we were going with you".  That stands out for me and one the most pleasant surprises I ever got.


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