Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
my old mate loved working and especially the job he had most of his life. didnt want to retire but was forced to. became depressed not working and tried other jobs but hankered for his old one, then his brain went; stroke or something like that. then had a growth appear and soon never knew anyone. died a few months later. all very upsetting. we all felt if he had stayed in his job he would have lived longer. some folk dont like having a lot of spare time you see. I can understand it, as I dont like too much myself. But he was different and actually lived for his job. A lot of old folk did. he never smiled after he retired
Fair enough, mate. That's a valid instance of someone who was *genuinely* happy with his 'lot' in life, which revolved around his job. It's often not like that, though.

My dad gave up running his fish & chip business as soon as he'd amassed enough cash to see him (and my mum) out of this world, which was when he was just over 60, and didn't regret it one iota, because then they could enjoy life together, going out for lunch most days, long walks in the country, holidays abroad and spending time in their garden.

The very LAST thing in his mind was standing behind a counter serving the general public, from 4pm to midnight, six days a week [much as he 'enjoyed' it when he had to]!

I managed to 'retire' much earlier, largely through some clever investments, and I've never been happier, getting up in the morning and only doing what *I* feel like doing, not what someone else forces me to. Fortunately though, I've got umpteen different interests to keep me occupied, so I almost never get bored

Marco.