I recently stumbled upon an article in my news feed—a psychological deep dive into retirement, featuring a fellow my age who was feeling a bit, well, lost. The article laid out ten surprises that “hit hard” in retirement. After reading it, I realized I relate to almost none of it! So, I thought I’d share my own perspective on adapting to and absolutely loving this new phase, keeping the spirit of slowing down but with a good dose of fun.

The Struggle to Slow Down (It’s Real!)

After four decades in “go mode,” one of my biggest challenges is actually training myself to slow down. My brain is still hardwired to think, “I better do this now!” even though my schedule is as open as a 24/7 Brazilian beach.

The internal monologue is always a hoot: “It’s getting late! Should I go to bed?” The answer is always: “Nope! Why? I don’t have to get up for anything specific, and I don’t have to leave any event unless I feel like it.” I still wake up relatively early by some standards—usually around 6:00 AM—but that’s a glorious 90 minutes later than my work alarm ever dared to ring!

The Sacred (and Silent) Morning Ritual

Every morning, the routine is the same: wake up, wash up, grab my coffee, and head straight to the balcony.

This is where the real work begins. I have to actively force myself to pause for at least 20 minutes. No touching the phone. No news, no messages, no email, and absolutely no browsing for silly TikToks or Instagram content (though I must admit, those animal videos are peak hilarity).

For those glorious 20 minutes, I enforce pure quiet. I listen to the city stirring, the birds chirping, and if I focus, I can practically hear their little wings flap. I swear the chirping sounds like they’re having the most intense gossiping session. Trust me, modifying 40+ years of ingrained behavior takes Olympic-level effort!

After my mandated quiet time, the fun begins. I check my mail (which is almost always just deleting digital junk), skim the news (which can be distressing, so I keep it brief), and watch my dose of animal videos. I still keep in touch with a buddy from my last job, and we now primarily communicate by sharing increasingly funny clips. Finally, I settle in for about an hour of reading. I’m currently working my way through the Dan Brown series, starting with Angels and Demons.

The Cerebral Grind & The Body Check-Up

Around 9:00 AM, I move to the pool to work on my new obsession: Portuguese. I’m tackling this language like a linguistic champion, using every tool available: Duolingo, Memrise, Babbel, and Pimsleur. They all offer something unique, so I figure, why choose? I also dedicate some time to keeping this blog fresh and may even add an audio file or venture into podcasting. We shall see!

Once my brain work is complete, I head to the gym for an hour. It’s all light weights and bodyweight exercises these days—nothing heavy. I’ve found that my body’s response to “lifting things” is now more of a polite suggestion than an enthusiastic participation.

When all that’s done, I might take a walk, grab anything we need from the store, or make the now-regular stop at the pharmacy. (At 62, the pharmacy is becoming my second favorite hangout spot.) By the time I get home, it’s mid-to-late afternoon. A shower, maybe a quick nap, more reading, and then the early evening rolls in. My wife and I have our separate decompression time, and then we meet up later. We talk, have dinner, and watch TV. Life is good.

The Contrarian’s Corner: My Take on the 10 Surprises

Here is my cheerful rebuttal to that “retiree who feels lost” article, point by point:

Surprise from the Article	My Perspective (Cleaner & Funnier)
1. Identity Loss	I know exactly who I am: Retired. There’s nothing to confront or figure out. I’m just me, only now I drink coffee by the pool instead of in a cubicle.
2. Spouse Proximity	My wife and I planned for this! We both have our own things going on, which we discussed long before I retired. We meet up for dinner, not a hostage negotiation.
3. Work Friends	I always viewed my work friends as excellent colleagues. That’s why, over 40 years, I deliberately never went to work-type events. Friendships built on shared stress are different from the ones you build outside the office!
4. Time Distortion	Time does move differently, and you realize you have less of it overall. This isn’t unsettling; it’s a fantastic motivator to live in the moment and enjoy every second.
5. Lack of Need	I’m thrilled nobody needs me the way they used to! I will always be there ASAP for family, but having fewer demands on my time is absolutely fantastic.
6. Body Demands	Yes, this one is spot-on! Your body absolutely does not react the way it did. I can wake up with a pain that wasn’t there five minutes ago, my gym routine is pitiful compared to my younger self, and are those age spots on my hands?! Oh, well.
7. Self-Confrontation	I know exactly who I am. There’s nothing to confront except maybe the lure of the nap during the day.
8. Money Psychology	Naturally, the money coming in is significantly less, so you have to be constantly aware. It’s a new mindset—less spending anxiety, more budget diligence.
9. Dream Reality Check	Retiring to Brazil wasn’t really a long-range “dream” early in my life. It was a practical necessity—financially, retiring in the US was impossible. But running out of tomorrows forced me to create a life I love here. It’s a dream I didn’t plan for but got incredibly lucky to achieve!
10. Not an Achievement	I wholeheartedly disagree! When you spend over 40 years in the working grind, getting to the finish line where your time is truly yours is a tremendous achievement. It’s also a transition, but let’s celebrate the win first!

Don’t let the articles or the worry get you wrapped up in the past or the future. Live in the moment and enjoy it.

As the wise Marcus Aurelius once said: “Control What You Can, Accept What You Can’t.” I’m busy controlling my Portuguese lessons and accepting that those animal videos are the only thing worth watching on the internet.

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