The Age of “Rewirement”

by Jeff Weiss

Years ago I would dream of my upcoming days of retirement. I would be 55 and I would spend my time on the tennis court, on the hiking trails, in the kitchen making wonderful meals, and on the deck consuming many wonderful cocktails and bottles of wine. What a life!

As I get closer to that “magical” age, I still want to spend time on all of these pursuits. But the thought of me retiring and spending all of my time doing these activities on a full-time basis doesn’t appeal to me the way that it used to. Now I look forward to gearing up and trying new things that I never had time to do before. Things like going back to school to get my PhD, writing that play that I’ve talked about for years, and opening that high-end breakfast spot that makes me hungry every time I think about it! Or perhaps I can even start a new business that is focused on the ignored and undervalued over 55 active aging consumer!

This got me thinking about the word “retire” and I found the following definition

“To withdraw from action or danger.”

While I don’t mind taking danger out of the equation (although a little danger can be a good thing!), the last thing I want to do is take action out of my life. My future will allow me the time and the ability to try new things and to bring action into my life, not sit around and think about things that I could have done.

Today I was introduced to the term “Rewirement”, which I immediately loved. It got me thinking about my future and the future of other active aging consumers like me. Unlike retirement, rewirement is not an ending but a new beginning. It is a time to reset our lives so that we can move forward and try new things without some of the constraints that may have held us back before.

And when I think about where I want to live as I get older, forget about the Retirement Communities that keep popping up all over the place. I’ll be looking for a Rewirement Community where great things will happen with others who want some action (and a little danger) in their lives.