Retirement and the Mechanical Rabbit

Greyhound dog races are banned in most states in the US, and rightfully so - it is a deplorable and inhumane gambling industry. Greyhounds are bred to create the fastest dogs possible so that they can chase a mechanical rabbit around a track. The dogs are forced to live in cramped pens. These social creatures are also forced to spend much of their time confined to their fenced enclosures and denied the opportunity to walk or play.

If an advanced life form were to observe humans, our behavior, the way we live day in and day out, and what we chase - would it not think that we are really no different than the racing greyhounds?

Every once in a while, a greyhound will accidentally catch the mechanical rabbit. Guess what happens? That greyhound will never race again. It has discovered that it’s been duped and led to believe that what it was chasing was real, when in reality, it was a figment of its imagination curated by its upbringing and environment.

Humans are also muzzled and bred to chase rabbits

Retirement is to people what the mechanical rabbit is to Greyhounds.

People chase the notion of retirement all their lives, having been fed stories of freedom, happiness, and reward for all the challenges they are struggling through. Some people, like the greyhound that catches the mechanical rabbit, even retire “early,” having struck “success” at an early age. They are the lucky ones as they still have a long time horizon left in their lives.

The typical retiree does not have as much time left in their lives, and most face physiological and cultural hurdles in trying to start again as they search for fulfilment which did not materialize as promised when they retired. They find out that playing golf is satisfying, but only temporarily so. Traveling and touring is enriching, but becomes repetitive and morphs into a generic experience. Hopping as vaunted board members from one company or organization to another becomes a muddling mix of meetings and approvals loosely linked together. Hobbies that they thought they were into and finally have the time to pursue aren’t as deep as they thought. And so the jumping from one thing to the next thing in hopes of filling the void within continues until time finally runs out.

The sad truth is that most people, just like the greyhounds, don’t ever get to catch the mechanical rabbit we call retirement. Financial challenges have placed many into situations where they need to work past their allocated corporate shelf lives. Most resort to gig-jobs such as delivery or cleaning services as a result.

The sooner you understand that retirement is not a real rabbit, the greater the chance you have of finding actual fulfillment.

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Sang @LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangyshin/

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