Happy day after the 4^th of July!  While the day is actually Tuesday, for millions of Americans back at work today will seem like Monday.  By the time everyone gets used to what day of the work week it is, Friday will be upon us.  Very cool! 

A few years ago I tried being “retired” for close to a year.  OK, more precisely I got fired from a job of 18 years, could have retired and took about a year to sort things out.  I always thought with time on my hands there were about a hundred different things I would finally get to do.  Certainly I had the time, but with the abundance of it I just never seemed to get things moving the way I had always thought I would.  There were a couple of trips that I x’ed off my bucket list.  There was time to read some of those books I never could get caught up on before.  My office finally got organized.  I even started a small business that could have been successful but since it gave me no real joy I didn’t stick with it.  So what did I do?  After about nine months, I gladly reentered the workforce in the profession I have been in most all of my adult life. 

Rejoining the workforce was a lot more exciting initially than it came to be after six months or so.  The early rush of “being back at it” was replaced in time with a more commonplace feeling of grateful acceptance.  One of the benefits I appreciate is having a regular schedule to keep.  I seem to get more done in all parts of my life when I have a routine.  In those months of “retirement” I often lost track of what day it was and with so much time on my hands it was very easy to put off till tomorrow most everything.  Why not!  I had plenty of time.  I came to understand how many who retire don’t last all that long.  Without meaning to, many become lazily complacent which hastens the grim reaper to call. 

So here I am on this Tuesday that feels like a Monday.  My alarm went off early to have time to write here, make breakfast and get ready for work.  I am grateful to have a job to go to.   These days around one in ten Americans would also be thankful to work, if they only had a job.  I count myself as blessed to not be one of them. 

Being a senior manager responsible for close to three dozen people, working in the current economy is a bit more of a challenge that it used to be.  We accomplish more with less than ever before.  Making good decisions and creating successful strategies has an all time importance.  If I screw up, many more than me suffer from my missteps.  This is truer now than any other time in my 30 years of management.  I accept the responsibility readily and understand clearly my role.  It is good to be needed!

To explain better why I chose to go back to work I found some insight in Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from his 1954 book Motivation and Personality.  The list includes four items Maslow considered essential and necessary before the fifth item on the list is possible to be achieved.

– Biological and Physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. 
– Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.
– Belongingness and Love needs – work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.
 – Esteem needs – mastery, independence, status, confidence, prestige, etc.
– Self-Actualization needs – fulfillment, morality, personal growth, creativity, etc.

When retired I was able to provide the first two items (Biological/Physiological and Safety needs) from my savings and the life it provided.   Further, I was able to get most, if not all of the third group (Belongingness and Love needs) from friends, spouse and family.  However, I do find today I get a portion of that group of needs from those I work with.

I believe the latter two items, Esteem and Self-Actualization needs, explain well why I chose to reenter the workforce.  I know both areas are healthier within when working at a regular job (at least for now).  I have no doubt that many people can retire and move into doing the things they have always dreamed of to fulfill themselves of the last two needs.  I am just not ready…. Yet!

Finally, I end up with the thought that the reason I had difficulty fulfilling the needs of Esteem and Self-Actualization was simply because I had so many choices.  Literally I could have done most anything, lived just about anywhere and done just about .  Humbly I discovered the blessing of having so many options put me in a position where I simply could not decide on the course I wanted to take.  To me that meant I was not ready to be retired.  In time I believe that will change, but for now I am grateful, content and happy to be working for a living.

When I work I relax; doing nothing makes me tired.  Pablo Picasso