为什么我在28岁退休

 As of today, I’m retired¹ from work and life.

What do I mean? I mean that I’ll no longer work or live life as conventional society deems me to. I’ll no longer concern myself with monetary² needs, societal statuses, creating a lifetime of achievements, matching people’s expectations, and so on. I’ll just do my thing, act the way I want to act, and live the life I want to live, void of expectations and self-obligation—and trust that everything will work itself out in the end.

Why? I mean I’m just 28. Technically³ I still have a good four decades to go before I am considered fit for retirement⁴. (The retirement age in Singapore is 65 now. It was 62 previously⁵ and was extended to 65 last year, and is probably going to be 68 or even 70 by the time I’m in 50 or 60.)

I guess I just realized that life is too short to be spent doing something, anything, I don’t want to do. Thinking back, a good part of my life had been spent living for someone or something else. From my studying years to my working years, I had constantly been in mad pursuit of goals which were both set by myself and by the society.

While the pursuit of these goals had made me a stronger and better person, the act of pursuing them had made me defer⁶ the present moment in wait of a better future. It made me constantly wonder “What’s next?” and look out into the future for greater happiness rather than actively⁷ live in the present.

Now that majority of my life goals have been achieved, I’m seeking for the next level-up where every moment of my life is pure bliss⁸. I have realized that this requires me to organically create my life path from the present moment, based on my current passions and needs, rather than constantly think about how to manipulate my present reality to achieve a hypothetical future. The latter focuses a lot on delayed gratification (putting off your current needs), while the former is about being aware of your current moment and nurturing⁹ it into a better moment the next.

How I’m going to live, starting from today

*Diagrams and drawings by me. I know, not the most sophisticated of drawings — but it’s kind of what I’m trying to convey too: to live life in a child-like manner, based on today and now, rather than worrying about what should be or what others might think!

On the surface it may not seem as though anything is going to change. I’ll still be writing articles at the blog. I’ll still be creating videos for Celes.TV (subscribe to get my video updates). I’ll still be taking on media interviews to spread my message. I may still be creating new courses at PE (I’m thinking of an anti-procrastination course or a fear-crushing course next.) I’ll still be creating new business ideas because I love conceptualizing, strategizing, and creation. I’ll still be creating plans for my life because I love to plan.

However, on the micro-level, things will be different. Instead of asking, “What’s next?” or “What should I do today to achieve my goal?”, I will be asking myself, “What do I want to do today/right now?”. Then, I will proceed to do just that. It’s a slightly, but fundamentally, different approach to life that will create a different life experience altogether.

This is more than just semantics. This is something that’s going to change my life inside out. I’ve already begun living this way for the past few weeks and I’m really liking¹⁰ the shift so far. Gone are the days of negligent¹¹ self-pressure, self-burdening, and life deferment¹². What I’m experiencing now is true inspiration and passion, from moment to moment. It’s like being in a perpetual state of flow.

To You

For you reading this, I encourage you to imagine you are retired now. What is the life you want to live? What is your definition of true bliss? What is a dream reality to you?

Then, think about how you can create that life right now, right now in this moment, rather than defer that life to some distant future.

Because you don’t live in the future. You live in the now. If you’re not completely happy today, in this present moment, then when are you ever going to be happy? Happiness starts in the now. If you want to live a happy life, you have to make happiness a present reality. Then, build on your present to create a greater future.

I’m done putting off my present in pursuit of a supposed better future. I invite you to do the same as me too—to live in the present, make happiness a present reality, then use that to create a marvelous life path as you move forward, rather than defer the current reality for the future.

I’ll end off with this quote by Confucious:

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~ Confucious

Here’s to living a great and fulfilling life for all of us! 

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1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

9 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

10 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

11 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

12 deferment   

n.迁延，延期，暂缓

参考例句：

• The bank do not allow further deferment of his payment. 银行不容许他再次推迟付款。 来自互联网
• Students are to refer to the regulations governing course deferment, refund and withdrawal the Student's Handbook. 学生需要参考学生手册上有关推迟入学、退费和退学的相关规定。 来自互联网