In this report, I describe the Joy of Chaos in Retirement.
Just by living our lives, we learn what we like most in life. We learn to add things we love to life and remove things we don’t. This is the beauty of retirement we all hope for.
For most of us, retirement means we are in charge of our day. We can sit home all day and watch TV or drive up the coast and watch the waves crash on the beach. We may have some physical limitations as we age, but otherwise, we are in charge of our day, hopefully.
But if we stick strictly to only what we want to do in retirement, our days may eventually become routine, less exciting, or even boring. In fact, if we turn the things we love most into a routine in retirement, it may not be as fun eventually.
We may eventually want to add some unpredictable excitement into our lives.
If we look back at the times in our lives when we have felt most alive, they were often not part of an old routine. And they rarely involved only pleasure. The days when we felt most alive often involve many different kinds of emotions, both positive and negative.
When I was about 13 years old, I fell in love with a girl in the neighborhood. She wasn’t my first crush. But this time it turned out to be painful. There was another boy in the picture and she was deciding which of us would be her boyfriend. I felt physical pain like I had been punched in the gut.
In just a few days, I felt fear, jealousy, hopelessness, despair, and deep desire. I also felt love what I thought was love at the time. There are very few memories from that age that stick out in my mind so clearly. Eventually, she picked me and we lasted about 2 weeks.
There was something about the chaos, thoughts, hormones, and emotions bouncing around inside me that made me aware that I was alive. I was mostly on auto-pilot at age 13 but during those few weeks I knew I was alive.
I hated the feeling at the time, but it helped me survive several failed relationships as an adult. The next time those feelings arose in me, I knew they were temporary and I would be okay eventually.
The level of perception in moments like these are heightened and intense. You never forget. But time heals all wounds. Knowing this, I no longer have fear of falling in love as an adult. So chaos not only makes you feel alive but it also teaches you something on the other side.
Six years later, on my 19th birthday, I bought myself a very fast sports car, an older 911 Targa. I learned to drive it in the winding curves of Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. I was driving so floating through curves in 4 wheel drifts that could only be controlled with the throttle.
I was pushing that car as fast as I could and it was very exciting. It felt like I was living at the edge of death in the corners. It was more exciting than skydiving which I did a few years later. The potential for death heightens my senses.
So what is it about those times in our lives when we felt most alive? Those times of my life seemed to be when I was sailing on unchartered waters.
Times when I was out of control of the outcome because I had never been there before. These moments are disorienting and new and we are taking actions in a vacuum of experience and knowledge. We are living in a heightened sense of awareness. Relying on intuition and perception.
These moments endue a sense of chaos in our life. So how do we stay alive in retirement instead of float along in only routines?
I purposely introduce chaos into my life
I am going to be dead someday. But while I am alive, I want to feel alive. Maybe not every day, but I am not interested in just safe predictable routines. I want to put myself into situations where I have never been before.
My name is Dan and I have purposely added chaos to my life. I will explain how I add chaos to my life and then I will suggest a few other ways people add chaos.
Ways to add chaos to your life
Travel: I left the United States 15+ years ago and I slow travel the world now. I have lived in and visited 67 countries so far.
If you have traveled internationally in your life, you may know what chaos feels like. There are 7000 languages spoken around the world today. If you walk into a restaurant, there is no guarantee that people will speak English to you. So your most basic needs create chaos when you travel.
You might be picking your meals by pointing at something someone else is eating. You might not even know what it is, but it just looks good to you. You might be shopping in grocery stores where you don’t recognize the food they are selling. You might have to search on Youtube to learn how to cook something you found in the store.
Every time I enter a new country I have never been before, the level of chaos in my life increases dramatically. I spend the next few weeks or months learning how everything works there.
Once I know how things work, it is time to go to a new country. Travel is about self-education to me. But rather than read about it in books, I like to put my feet on the ground where I can smell, taste, feel, and see the differences. So the world is my teacher.
Technology: How people make money on the Internet is fascinating to me. The Internet is one of the most chaotic things I know about and the way people are making money on the Internet changes faster than I can keep up with. So I am constantly confused and have to study to figure out what is going on.
But just like travel, I don’t just read about how people make money on the Internet. I started my own online business where I use what I learn to make money in the Internet. My web page, Vagabond Buddha.com, teaches people my first passion, how to travel the world and retire cheap in paradise.
Further, once my online business started making money, people started to ask how to make money on the Interent. They wanted the same freedom I have, the freedom to travel the world without having a job. So, I posted a course about how to make money online with your favoruite hobby while you travel the world. It just teaches what I have learned-How to Make Money with My Hobby Online.
So my natural curiosity about the world and the Internet has ended up paying for my favorite hobbies, travel and learning about the Internet.
So what are some of the other things you can do to introduce chaos into your life? In order to create chaos in your life it should be something that takes you out of your favorite routine and your comfort zone.
So think of things you have avoided your whole life. The things that make you uncomfortable are going to be the best things to do if you want to create the Joy of Chaos in Retirement. So what are you afraid of?
Falling in Love Again: If you have been single for years, maybe it is time to fall in love again? Maybe it is time for you to throw a profile up online and see what the cat drags in?
Public Speaking: If you have social fears or fear of public speaking, maybe it is time to join toastmasters. Toastmasters is an organizatyion that helps people learn to be excellent public speakers. So you will be around people that have overcome the same fears of you.
Hiking: If you have a fear of heights, maybe it is time to join a hiking club. Many cities have hiking clubs on Facebook. You can also try using the social webpage called Meetups.com
Explore Your Creative Side: If you have a fear of not being a creative type, maybe it is time to take an art class, learn an instrument, finger paint, learn to sing, or dance. Just Google Courses in yoru area.
Martial Arts: If you are afraid of being physically assaulted by people, maybe it is time to put yourself into a martial arts course where you can learn how to protect yourself and build self confidence.
Of course, you should seek your doctor’s approval before getting involved with anything that could put your life at risk. But if you can pick something that will create some upset, confusion, or chaos in your life, you are likely to experience the joy that arise when you get outside the comfort zone of your routine.
Thanks for reviewing my report, “The Joy of Chaos in Retirement.”
Please subscribe to VagabondBuddha.com or our Youtube Channel to watch us move around the world, 15 years and 67 countries so far. Make sure to grab a free copy of my eBook, How I Fired My Boss and Traveled the World for 15+ Years. It has most of my best tips and tricks.
This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the Youtube channel for VagabondBuddha.com. Thank you for stopping by. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?