A Different Way of Thinking
Have you ever wondered whether there might be more to life after work than simply giving up work?
There are two great myths about what happens:
1. It’s easy. Everyone does it. You don’t need to prepare
2. It’s all about money
But these don’t sound right. Money matters but it isn’t the whole story. Money alone doesn’t tell you who you want to be, how you want to spend your days, what gives you energy, how your relationships may change, or what will make this stage meaningful.
A fulfilling future life rarely happens by accident. More often it emerges from asking the right questions.
Retirement is something that happens to you.
Future life is something you create.
What Could Your Future Life Become?
Wouldn’t it be easy if there was a single correct answer to this?
You can rely on those two great myths, but there may be more possibilities available than you realise. It’s much more satisfying and fun to think actively and create a future that reflects who you are and what matters to you.
Curiosity and imagination will give shape and purpose to your years ahead.
Why I Became Interested in These Questions?
I’m Chris. I’m not a guru, and I’m not here to tell anyone how to live their life. What I am is someone who has spent a lot of time thinking about how we move from one part of our life into another — especially this one.
Like most people, my life has been a mixture of work, family, responsibilities, unexpected turns, and the occasional moment of clarity. I’ve had busy years, quiet years, creative years, and years where I felt I was simply keeping things going.
I’ve seen a lot of people “retire”. Invariably they started with joy in their new freedom. But often it didn’t take long for that to decline into stagnation. I was convinced there were better ways.
And, as I found myself ready to end work, I was asking those sorts of questions that you may be asking. I spent time exploring this and I talked with a lot of people. Those who seemed most energised by their future lives had one thing in common. They didn’t think the usual assumptions were enough. They had spent time thinking about what they really wanted from their years ahead. They had focused on what possibilities might open up to them and, in understanding themselves, they had questioned their purpose, relationships, health, energy, structure, fun and possibility.
All that helped me create a framework, a new way of thinking, that became FromScary to Fun. This is not about following my solution. It’s simply enabling you to use the framework to discover your own solution.
So, what happens when the important conversations don’t happen – and when you don’t think seriously about Future Life? I discovered in my conversations that there are hidden costs – often drifting, boredom, loss of identity, couples growing apart and all that lovely “freedom” being wasted.
What Changed?
Having finished full-time work, I’ve chosen to build my days around the things that matter to me: family, friends, writing, learning keyboards, curiosity, play, pickleball, good conversations, and helping people navigate the transition into their own “future life” with a bit more confidence and imagination. I don’t see this time as slowing down. I see it as becoming myself.
I’m not building an empire. I’m not chasing numbers. I’m simply interested in thoughtful people who want to design a future that feels purposeful, energising, and genuinely theirs.
Through my conversations, I’ve come to believe that fun isn’t optional in this stage of life – it’s essential. Not the surface kind, but the kind that makes you feel connected, energised and fully alive. In my u3A groups, I see how quickly people open up when they’re given permission to be playful again. Often, that’s all any of us need; a smile and a sense of direction that it’s perfectly okay to enjoy ourselves