Reinvent for Retirement Lesson #3: Mindset Matters

We all know that saying “the grass is always greener on the other side.” The problem is that looks can be deceiving.  And our view of the situation is often impacted by our mindset and how we filter information. Let me explain…

Please take a look at the picture of the top of the post. Not so appealing, right? This photo was taken with the camera pointing down directly at the grass.  Inspecting the lawn from this perspective, you see the grass – but you also see the dirt, the dead blades of grass, the cracks between the dirt, etc. – and that all makes for a not-so-pretty photo. Now, let’s look at a photo of my neighbor’s lawn.

Hmm, sure looks healthier than mine, doesn’t it?

Now, the reason their lawn looks healthier is because this photo was taken from a different angle than the first photo of our lawn. Instead of standing in the middle of the grass, and being forced to focus on the dirt, this photo was shot from a distance.  Photographed with that “birds-eye” perspective, all you can see is a lush, healthy and green lawn. Of course, if I stood on my neighbor’s lawn and took a photo of their grass straight-on, I’d capture a far less appealing image.

Moral of the story?

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It just sometime looks that way.

Keep that in mind the next time you begin to feel that everyone else’s retirement is so much more fun, interesting, rewarding, ____ (fill in the appropriate adjective). There are no perfect retirements.  Each one, no matter how seemingly ideal, has its share of warts, worms and fungus. It’s always best to assess what is real and what is merely an illusion before you pull up roots and make a change.