What do you think about early retirement? Particularly if you have a passion you’re pursuing.
I don’t think I’ve ever fully considered what great sportspeople, artists, actors or any public figures (who loved what they did) do after they retire. Reading Serena’s interview challenges me to do so. As I’m reading this article I’m fascinated by a few things.
Serena’s attitude about having to say goodbye to a passion she loved and lived her entire life is one of those things. It isn’t one of longing, but rather reminiscent of the amazing life she lived as a tennis player. No doubt she has amazing memories, she is after all one of the greatest sportspeople to have ever existed.
Secondly, what fascinates me is what she calls a challenge, as she refers to her second serve, her life after tennis. Not only do I appreciate this outlook on life, but there’s something to be said about someone who looks at life as a challenge, because a challenge can be overcome. This for me also humanises this almost godly figure as I read about her struggles to get through something as mundane and as simple as existing within everyday life.
Interestingly, while I relate to her struggle regarding how to approach the development of her kids’ passions and skills, I certainly could never understand what having a blueprint of the greatness within your genes and the pressure that comes with that feels like. I do find myself in a bit of an uncomfortable space as I think about her kids though, and the expectation that will be put on them as the children of Serena Williams. The expectation is for them to be as great as their mother, but even when they make it as athletes should they choose to be, there will always be the expectation to measure up to arguably the greatest tennis player of all time. There’s no doubt Serena is also thinking about this and having to navigate that and the possibility of not giving her kids the best platform for them to be great. I don’t envy the position she’s in.
In the article, she mentions what I really consider to be a powerful and insightful statement that perhaps gives us an idea of what it takes to be at the level she was in for so long. Not only was she moving at a pace and at a level that had no room for anything else, it didn’t even leave her any time to come to terms with what she was building and who she was becoming in what will be the history of the sport.
This also makes me wonder about retirement for myself, early retirement to be specific. My generation and the one after us are big on early retirement and enjoying the money we’re working hard for now. While I love this for us, as we say, I’m worried about the quality of life we live right now. If we’re rushing to retire and not do what we do anymore, what does that say about how much we love it or not? One doesn’t look forward to giving up their passion. In fact, a lot of people get lost in the pursuit of their passion, so much so that retirement comes as a painful part of their journey. Based on conversations, in real life and on line, most of those in my generation aren’t worried about retirement getting in the way of what they do.
I suppose this article is a very very long way of asking these 2 questions:
- Are we passionate enough about what we do to struggle with moving on from it once we’re done?
- If we’re so committed to the idea of early retirement, does that mean we don’t love what we do enough to do it all our lives? AND if that is the case, how miserable are we right now?
