 | I often meet people who are talking about retiring, and I’m always curious as to what they will do with their time. Many plan to go travelling and others volunteer in their local community or take on family caring roles. I have no intention to retire. I’ve worked my entire life since I was age 15, starting as a Saturday girl in Woolworths in the UK, and have worked continuously ever since. |
My work has been an interesting mix, ranging from electronics through sales, purchasing, recruitment and marketing. I was also involved in local community events and ran group workshops supporting men and women to be more confident in life, and later set up my own business in personal development coaching and counselling.
I enjoyed all that, but something was clearly not quite right in my life, because I was seriously overweight and had developed a thyroid condition that affected my heart rhythm. I underwent counselling which helped, but I also started learning about healthy living. I had already stopped smoking and reduced my caffeine intake, and eventually stopped drinking alcohol. After a while, I also stopped eating gluten and dairy, and slowly over the next few years, my body started to shed a few pounds. I was naturally getting slimmer and slimmer, with no effort at all!
After the two children were grown up and left home, I separated from my husband and moved to the West Country. I let go of my corporate training business and took on simple work cleaning and then working in a supermarket.
A few years later I travelled to Australia, where I met a man I fell in love with and eventually I moved countries to be with him. I was on a visitor visa, which allowed me to stay for a year. It did not allow me to do paid work, but I could volunteer, and I volunteered at the local op shop and at a local aged care home. It was fun and gave me some sense of satisfaction because I love meeting people, and I love caring and helping.
Living in Australia was a very different experience and my new man and I would go for walks along the beach at sunrise, which was always stunning, and we’d meet up with his friends for dinner. Sadly, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he died the following June, so it was a short relationship, but a very loving one. After his death, I decided to stay in Australia and was granted a visa with permanent residency which allowed me to work and study.
Studying for Australian qualifications in training and assessment enabled me to get a good part time job. Companies can no longer discriminate on age grounds, and they took me on at 69.
I became an assessor for an online Counselling course and volunteered with a crisis support line. Both satisfy my love of helping people and I have learned a lot about the current state of mental health in Australia, especially with older people. I have found that it is always worth volunteering because that can lead to paid work, which is what happened with the crisis line; I am now a paid mentor on their training courses.
I am now living a healthy lifestyle, keeping as fit as I can through exercise, walking and swimming, eating a healthy diet, and developing a positive mindset. I am looking much younger and fitter at 71 than I ever was at 50!
I’ve never been one to sit down and do nothing, it’s not in my nature, I like to keep active, and I love to work. My retirement plan was to train and work as a counsellor so that, no matter how arthritic I might be, as long as I could hear and speak, I could work. I recently updated my counselling skills with an Australian Diploma of Counselling and am now embarking on graduate level study with a view to taking a master’s degree in counselling supervision. Then, not only can I work as a counsellor, I can also support other counsellors in their work.
It is my personal belief that we are all born with a purpose, some are successful at school, and some are not, but we all have natural talents that we can employ to support ourselves financially as well as making a contribution to humanity.
I am on a pension, and I choose to do paid work in order to supplement my income so that I can maintain a reasonable standard of life, but it’s not about the money, there’s more to it. For many of us, working and/or volunteering gives us a sense of purpose, a feeling that our existence is worthwhile. Many older people have a wealth of experience that is of enormous value and well worth sharing. Systems change as technology changes, and that can be challenging for some, but being older does not mean we have no value, our lived wisdom can help younger generations in many ways.
Many people look forward to their retirement as a relief from the stresses of work, but for me, “I’m 71 and still going strong!”
Carmel R., Australia
If you enjoyed this article for further reading you may also like:
Words of Wisdom from the Unstoppable Ingrid
I enjoyed all that, but something was clearly not quite right in my life, because I was seriously overweight and had developed a thyroid condition that affected my heart rhythm. I underwent counselling which helped, but I also started learning about healthy living. I had already stopped smoking and reduced my caffeine intake, and eventually stopped drinking alcohol. After a while, I also stopped eating gluten and dairy, and slowly over the next few years, my body started to shed a few pounds. I was naturally getting slimmer and slimmer, with no effort at all!
After the two children were grown up and left home, I separated from my husband and moved to the West Country. I let go of my corporate training business and took on simple work cleaning and then working in a supermarket.
A few years later I travelled to Australia, where I met a man I fell in love with and eventually I moved countries to be with him. I was on a visitor visa, which allowed me to stay for a year. It did not allow me to do paid work, but I could volunteer, and I volunteered at the local op shop and at a local aged care home. It was fun and gave me some sense of satisfaction because I love meeting people, and I love caring and helping.
Living in Australia was a very different experience and my new man and I would go for walks along the beach at sunrise, which was always stunning, and we’d meet up with his friends for dinner. Sadly, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he died the following June, so it was a short relationship, but a very loving one. After his death, I decided to stay in Australia and was granted a visa with permanent residency which allowed me to work and study.
Studying for Australian qualifications in training and assessment enabled me to get a good part time job. Companies can no longer discriminate on age grounds, and they took me on at 69.
I became an assessor for an online Counselling course and volunteered with a crisis support line. Both satisfy my love of helping people and I have learned a lot about the current state of mental health in Australia, especially with older people. I have found that it is always worth volunteering because that can lead to paid work, which is what happened with the crisis line; I am now a paid mentor on their training courses.
I am now living a healthy lifestyle, keeping as fit as I can through exercise, walking and swimming, eating a healthy diet, and developing a positive mindset. I am looking much younger and fitter at 71 than I ever was at 50!
I’ve never been one to sit down and do nothing, it’s not in my nature, I like to keep active, and I love to work. My retirement plan was to train and work as a counsellor so that, no matter how arthritic I might be, as long as I could hear and speak, I could work. I recently updated my counselling skills with an Australian Diploma of Counselling and am now embarking on graduate level study with a view to taking a master’s degree in counselling supervision. Then, not only can I work as a counsellor, I can also support other counsellors in their work.
It is my personal belief that we are all born with a purpose, some are successful at school, and some are not, but we all have natural talents that we can employ to support ourselves financially as well as making a contribution to humanity.
I am on a pension, and I choose to do paid work in order to supplement my income so that I can maintain a reasonable standard of life, but it’s not about the money, there’s more to it. For many of us, working and/or volunteering gives us a sense of purpose, a feeling that our existence is worthwhile. Many older people have a wealth of experience that is of enormous value and well worth sharing. Systems change as technology changes, and that can be challenging for some, but being older does not mean we have no value, our lived wisdom can help younger generations in many ways.
Many people look forward to their retirement as a relief from the stresses of work, but for me, “I’m 71 and still going strong!”
Carmel R., Australia
If you enjoyed this article for further reading you may also like:
Words of Wisdom from the Unstoppable Ingrid