Go-Go, Slow-Go, No-Go.

It’s a phrase we’ve begun using as we think about what lies ahead for us, much as it does for millions of other people in their 70s.

When Champa and I walked away from our traditional lives in 2015, at age 62, we didn’t see ourselves as “retiring.” Rather, we hoped to engage with the world in new ways, in our case by joining the Peace Corps (above) and then traveling and volunteering extensively.

No shuffleboard for us, thanks.

I started this blog then and called it “Not Exactly Retired” to emphasize its focus on alternatives to traditional retirement. Eleven years and 422 posts later, I feel fortunate to have pursued that vision and helped some readers think more boldly about their own dreams.

Back when we started, I was so concerned with transitioning away from the workplace without “retiring” that I barely considered what might happen later when we inevitably needed to slow down. That seemed so far away.

Recently, though, it’s begun to feel closer. 

Both of us remain active. We’re leaving soon on a new trip and have others planned. We’re going to the gym, spending time with our family and friends, volunteering and living full lives. We know how lucky we’ve been to do this and are grateful for our blessings.

Slowly, though, our bodies have begun to creak a bit. Some friends have moved to retirement communities. A few have died. Our two oldest grandchildren are in college. It’s finally dawning on us that “not exactly” can’t last forever. At some point — not yet — we’re going to need to slow down.

Which is why we now find ourselves discussing the phrase “no-go, slow-go, no-go,” which Champa read in an article several weeks ago.

It’s popular among financial planners. who use it to help clients think about how much money to budget for the different stages of their retirements. Writing in Kiplinger, one advisor said “it’s best to expect to do the big (and more expensive) stuff early on, when you’re healthier, then slow things down as you get older.”

The stages apply beyond financial considerations to life more generally. In a lovely essay on the Sixty + Me website, Renee Langmuir discussed her journey from beginning retirement “with a fresh start and big dreams” to encountering physical and other challenges in her 70s that “ambushed me, the former ‘can-do’ gal!” She found the transition challenging, writing: “Until very recently, my inner critic was cracking the whip with shrieks of ‘you can do more!’”

I know how she feels. Champa and I love the life we’ve pursued and are reluctant to tap the brakes on it even slightly. But off in the distance we can see the highway ending for “Go-Go” and glimpse the exit ramp for “Slow-Go.” Like it or not, that’s where we and others in our age cohort are heading.

Champa and I met in Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha, and we know how Buddhism emphasizes the impermanence of life. Wisdom comes from recognizing this reality, embracing it and finding meaning in every changing moment. Even though we’ve treasured our decade of Go-Go and plan to keep pursuing it, we need to accept that it will give way inevitably to Slow-Go, and then to No-Go, unless something worse intervenes. 

“Not exactly retired” remains our mantra for now. We hope to keep chanting it as long as we can. It won’t last forever.