As I was signing the lease for our Saratoga apartment, Jane
asked, "So, are you building a house?" She was trying to understand
why I was renting a high-end apartment for 8 months, including winter months in
a northern city.
My response: It's kind of crazy but I'm doing this for the
fun of it. My husband and I are calling it "The Retirement Experiment."
She seemed to get it, stating, "Oh, so you're seeing if you like living in
Saratoga?" Okay, I guess so. That works. In my opinion this experiment will
help us know if we like living in Saratoga, but there is much more that will
happen because we don't know exactly why we're doing it. Actually, it's the
"much more" that makes it even more exciting.
I've noticed other times in my life when something started
with "It's kind of crazy but…" that great things happen. For example,
my favorite consulting job came about after the HR Director wrote me an email
that started with, "It's kind of crazy but…" She proposed a
project that hadn't been discussed within the company. She knew the logistics
didn't make sense—a two-hour commute each way. I wrote back that "kind of
crazy ideas" are my favorite ideas to consider.
How about you? Do you have an idea that you're holding back
on because it's kinda crazy? Maybe it
doesn't make sense at this stage of life. Maybe you think you're too old or too
poor or too something. Or maybe you think you're not young enough, not rich
enough, or not something enough. Explore anyway. Start doing something—it can
be as simple as a Goggle search. Drop assumptions. Have fun exploring and
experimenting.
Often we find that our assumptions are not fact. Often there
are opportunities that we didn't know about. I had no idea that it was possible
to find a beautifully furnished apartment within walking distance of downtown
Saratoga Springs. And to top that off, I was able to get an 8-month lease,
which is all I need to try my retirement experiment.
What else might there be in life that I'm not aware of? I'm
ready to experiment, even with crazy ideas!
Copyright 2015 Patrice Jenkins
