Today I’m going to talk about the two types of motivation that drive people to retire (assuming they get to choose).
It’s important, because without a balance of both, your retirement risks a false start.
Most people never stop to consider the type of motivation behind their drive to retire.
Don’t reverse into retirement
Away-from motivations are pain points in your daily life that eventually build up to the point you feel you need to act to change your situation.
Recognise any of these?
* Bad boss
* Toxic workplace
* Changing technology
* Being sidelined
* Struggling to keep up
They’re good for overcoming the busyness of life and the gravity of your comfort zone. They provide the short-term drive to get you to take action.
They are, however, focused on what will soon become your past. Only looking back poses a couple of risks:
* Neglecting the long-term. Not giving sufficient care to the longer-term consequences of how and when you retire.
* Running out soon after you retire. The closer you are to the triggers, the stronger the away-from motivation. But when you leave those triggers behind, you’ll also leave behind your source of motivation.
You’ll be retired, but you’ll be adrift. It’s not the kind of motivation that can sustain you for decades of life after work.
Sustainable motivation
Toward motivations are those things in your future you want to experience. They may start out as vague ideas. But with reflection and experimentation, they will become more specific over time.
Here are some common ones:
* Giving back
* Nurturing relationships
* Starting a new journey
* Embracing your hobbies and interests
* Being a present grandparent
Toward motivations are good for giving you direction and optimism for the future.
However, if you only look forward, you risk never starting your retirement plan. One more year… becomes one more year… and another…
Finding balance
To retire successfully you need both away-from and toward motivation.
Do you have more away-from or toward motivation? Or a balance and clarity of both?
Here’s a short 10-question quiz to help you reflect on your retirement motivations and whether there are any gaps.
What’s driving you? Take the retirement motivation quiz.
Answer 10 questions to discover the strength and direction of your motivations to retire.
Step 1: Away-from questions
Score these 5 statements based on how true they are for you.
(1 = not true to 5 = completely true)
* My manager makes my life difficult
* Work is stressful
* Work is getting harder from a health perspective
* Things are changing at work and I don’t have the energy to change with it
* I’m bored or unfulfilled at work
Step 2: Toward questions
Score these 5 statements based on how true they are for you.
(1 = not true to 5 = completely true)
* I can describe what a regular week looks like without work in it.
* If I got given an exciting new project at work, it wouldn’t delay my retirement plans.
* I have a clear sense of who I’ll be when I’m no longer defined by my job.
* I have something I want to build, learn or contribute to that gives me a sense of purpose
* I’ve talked about what retirement would look like with my partner and/or friends.
Step 3: Score
Add up the scores for the away questions.
Add up the scores for your towards questions.
Calculate: toward score - away-from score = Your motivation score
If your score is negative, you have more away from motivation. If it’s positive, you have more towards motivation. The higher the number the stronger the imbalance.
Look at the two total and consider which one may need strengthening.
Of course this is just a quiz. It’s a tool for reflection not an extensive psychological profile, so take from it what’s useful and leave the rest.
So to recap:
1. There’s two types of motivation.
2. Away-from motivation drives you to action in the short-term.
3. Toward motivation gives you a sustainable sense of direction for the longer-term.
4. You need a balance of both.
5. Find your balance with the ‘What’s driving you?’ quiz.
The big question: Where’s your motivation to retire coming from?