How One Wrong Yes in Retirement Taught Me a Bigger Lesson

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Retirement Opens Doors—But Which Ones Should You Walk Through?

Retirement gives you many opportunities. It’s a time for reinventing yourself, following your curiosity, trying on new things, and being open to new experiences.

However, be careful what opportunities you say yes to in retirement. Some opportunities are beneficial and work you enjoy, but they can keep you from doing more important things.

My Personal Experience Saying Yes When I Shouldn’t Have

During the winter and summer of last year, I was a volunteer at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. Last fall, I agreed to work part-time two days a week as a National Park Service ranger.

We were short-staffed, so there was a need. I was good at the job and enjoyed meeting new people and teaching. It stroked my ego to have the uniform and respect of a ranger.

Negatively, I had to act extroverted all day, and it was exhausting. It was a one-and-a-half-hour commute each way. I was exhausted at the end of each day, and it took the next day to fully recover.

What made me realize I had made a mistake was when I received an offer for a job that was much more important to me, but I had to turn it down because of my NPS job. As Michelle Orem said about a job opportunity she accepted, “I don’t mind the work, but it takes time away from other things I could be working on.” What I Learned in the First Year of Retirement.

Three Questions to Ask Before You Say Yes

The lesson here is to be very selective about what opportunities we accept and not be afraid to say no to those that aren’t what we consider our most important work.

There are three things to consider before saying yes:

1. Is this opportunity what’s most important to me? Does this opportunity fit with my values, what I think is my most important work? If not, let it go.

2. Will saying yes to this opportunity mean I’ll spend less time doing what I truly care about? Will this opportunity prevent you from spending time doing things you consider more important? Will you regret this commitment if another opportunity arises that better fits your priorities?

When you decide to pass on an opportunity, you allow yourself space to be open to others that may better align with your values. As finite humans, anytime we say yes to something, we say no to others.

3. If you’re unsure, instead of committing, try a small experiment to see if it’s a good fit for you. See if it’s an option to do a ‘trial run’ and see how this impacts your other important work. Set up your experiment by committing to doing X for Y days. Then, stop and evaluate your experience. You may decide to continue on or that it’s not a good fit for you.

Saying yes to opportunities in retirement is exciting and fun, but ensure it’s the right opportunity you’re accepting.

AI Note: I wrote this blog post myself, using my own words for the initial draft. I used AI only to suggest headlines, section headings, and text improvements.