What's a Competitive Retirement?

In the Second Edition of Don’t Retire, REWIRE! published in 2007 we briefly mentioned that in our research we noticed the emergence of a trend we called…”competitive retirements.” The best way to describe it is to say that we saw retirees trying to one-up their fellow retirees in terms of how great their retirements were compared to others.

We understood that now that work was off the screen, and people were not talking about their next big deal or promotion, (and many were tired of talking about their children’s successes) that these retirees were making their retirements the next and newest pawn in the competitive game of life. 

Now in 2019 and our Third Edition has been published, this competitive mentality is more pronounced than ever. People don’t just ask about where people traveled but rather grill them with questions like “Was this your first time to Paris?" Only to respond ..”we’ve been there so many times already." Instead of asking, "What did you do/see on the trip?” they  ask them where they stayed? Translation: can you afford a fabulous hotel? We understand that some people are really into hotels  but it can be off-putting if you are the one being interrogated. These types of competitive scenarios are rearing their ugly head, even among the best of friends, and many are finding pain and insult in the nature of the questions. 

There has been much written on the Psychology of Competition  throughout human history and sadly human behavior doesn't change all that much.  Hurtful competition and one upsmanship are boorish realities.  If you think people don't feel your questions are offensive, think again. Find other ways to be competitive.

REWIRE your life on your agenda! Importantly, be happy for others as well as yourself.