By Rudy Dunnigan, DMD© Dreamstime
I suppose that there are many of us in the profession who are contemplating retirement, but not looking forward to “doing nothing productive.” The “nothing productive” thing seems to be a recurring worry by more than a few of us. I have practiced dentistry for more than 40 years and have always and still do enjoy going to the office every day. I’ve had the same difficult patients, challenging clinical cases, and general worries that most of us have, but the positive aspects of practice still far outweigh the downside. Yet, I have that gnawing feeling that I may have slowed a step. I know, realistically, that I can’t practice much longer either because my skills will diminish or I won’t tolerate what my government has done or is getting ready to do.I know that many of you have had these same thoughts; some concerning the very near future and some for a future some distance away. If you still have a lot of years in your practice life ahead of you, begin to plan now what you want to do during retirement. I’m not going to attempt to counsel you on how to plan financially; there are many experts out there willing to advise you about that. The question I’m asking here is how will you spend your time?I have heard many of my friends and colleagues say how wonderful it will be to retire and travel to places that they’ve always wanted to see. That seems to be a wonderful idea, but there are some downsides to that. First of all, how much time can you actually spend “traveling”? Even if you’re gone six months a year (most of you won’t be), how will you spend the other six months? The one thing that all of us will have when we retire is a lot of time to fill. I had another friend (and patient) tell me that retirement for him meant that every day was Saturday. The time came when he ran out of things to do on Saturday and boredom set in.Richard Armour wrote, Retired is being twice tired, I’ve thought
First tired of working,
Then tired of not.How much golf can you play? How much can you fish? Although someone did comment that “If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” My point is that too much of anything can be a bad thing. Realistically, how productive will you be when you stop producing professionally? We were all educated to be producers of an important service, and that’s what we have done for the major portion of our lives. It can be culture shock when we no longer feel needed by so many people. Let me suggest a few things that you might do in retirement.If you’re a number of years from retirement, put a hobby in your life that you can continue to do all of your life.Sculpt. Many of you have the talent to do it. Create interesting figures and ideas and sell them at craft fairs, county fairs, bazaars, or anyplace else you can find where anybody is selling anything. You’ll not only earn a little money by still being productive, but you’ll also meet a ton of interesting people. Buy a book about sculpting or go online to read about it. You may have the skill to do it — remember, you sculpted wax crowns in dental school and you still may be doing it. If you can make something that small, it’ll be a cinch to do much larger things and it won’t require near the eyesight when you’re 80!Collect antiques. You needn’t necessarily put a fortune into their purchase. I have a cousin who has sold antiques for years (it was what he did when he retired from teaching school). He tells me, “If it’s old, someone will buy it.” He started selling out of a very small, rented building and wound up with a huge sales area that is actually a converted barn. You can start out by acquiring old dental cabinets, lithographs, etc., simply because you will more readily find such things. If you start early learning the trade, it will be easier to do it full time when you retire ... and you’re going to meet those same interesting people. It’s even easier to sell things now that sites such as eBay® are available, but you won’t meet those interesting people.Start a used dental equipment business. You already know about the product and any number of catalogs and online sources can tell you the worth of anything. You would be surprised at how many dentists buy good quality, used equipment and how much more apt they are to buy from someone who knows so much about the products. If you like to tinker, you can also make broken things for which you paid very little or nothing serviceable again. Looking for used equipment, antiques, or craft fairs in exotic places is also a wonderful way to write off some of your travel.I’m sure that you can think of your own special retirement activity that suits your particular interests and talents. Start doing it now and it’ll be easier. That’s not to say that you can’t start after you retire; you can. Part of the fun then will be learning while you do. As Harry Emerson Fosdick once wrote, “Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.” Anything that you have been involved in for a good portion of your life can become a full-time hobby and/or business when you retire. How wonderful it would be to be paid to do something that you did for recreation when you were practicing! Think about it — you were smart enough to get into and through dental school ... you’re smart enough to make a plan to enjoy your retirement.You must be wondering by now why I would write such an article. You see, I’m still practicing at age 68, and I plan to continue as long as I feel good and have my clinical skills. But I’ve discovered what I want to do when I retire. I’ve written one thing or another for most of my life. I’ve written essays, short stories, professional articles, and vignettes about various things and people. Writing always seems to relax me and I enjoy doing it. I’ve even had a few things printed in Dental Economics. Maybe you have, too, or think you would like to write.Lastly, for your edification, I’ll attempt to tell you how to write a book. You’ll have to contact me if you want to know how to go about being published. It is very difficult! I can be reached at [email protected]. The easiest way to write a book, at least for me, is to write a series of short stories that are related. Each one, depending on its length, can then be conformed into one to three chapters of a book. Next you can tie them together by segueing from one to the other. Write with a theme in mind so that they can easily be related.How do I know all this? I did it! I just had a novel published, titled “Boone Springs” (available on Amazon.com), and it’s doing quite well. I wrote it from about 20 short stories that I had written over the years. I have many more stories that I plan to put together into novel form. I’m a dentist who learned how to write, and you can too. It’s a hobby and maybe a second profession that I can pursue in retirement — it’s just something I love to do. Retirement plans are important for another reason. Malcolm Forbes said, “Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did.” I happen to believe that an idle mind is as dangerous and maybe more dangerous than an idle body, and I think the literature supports that. You have been in a profession that has required you to work out complex problems and concepts all of your practice life. To simply stop using that reasoning ability and stop experiencing that stimulating activity is a dangerous thing indeed. Depression in those over age 65 is higher than in any other age group, and an idle mind is the playground for depression. Chances are that you are going to live a long time after you retire. The average length of one’s life after 65 is now approaching what used to be the average lifespan from birth to death. Your physical and mental health are inescapably related. Take care of them both if you want to keep them functioning at the maximum possible level for the maximum number of years. You have taken care of others for most of your adult life. Now it’s time to take care of yourself. You can’t choose not to age, but you can choose to enjoy it rather than succumb to it. Orta recens quam pura nites. (Newly risen, how brightly you shine.)
First tired of working,
Then tired of not.How much golf can you play? How much can you fish? Although someone did comment that “If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” My point is that too much of anything can be a bad thing. Realistically, how productive will you be when you stop producing professionally? We were all educated to be producers of an important service, and that’s what we have done for the major portion of our lives. It can be culture shock when we no longer feel needed by so many people. Let me suggest a few things that you might do in retirement.If you’re a number of years from retirement, put a hobby in your life that you can continue to do all of your life.Sculpt. Many of you have the talent to do it. Create interesting figures and ideas and sell them at craft fairs, county fairs, bazaars, or anyplace else you can find where anybody is selling anything. You’ll not only earn a little money by still being productive, but you’ll also meet a ton of interesting people. Buy a book about sculpting or go online to read about it. You may have the skill to do it — remember, you sculpted wax crowns in dental school and you still may be doing it. If you can make something that small, it’ll be a cinch to do much larger things and it won’t require near the eyesight when you’re 80!Collect antiques. You needn’t necessarily put a fortune into their purchase. I have a cousin who has sold antiques for years (it was what he did when he retired from teaching school). He tells me, “If it’s old, someone will buy it.” He started selling out of a very small, rented building and wound up with a huge sales area that is actually a converted barn. You can start out by acquiring old dental cabinets, lithographs, etc., simply because you will more readily find such things. If you start early learning the trade, it will be easier to do it full time when you retire ... and you’re going to meet those same interesting people. It’s even easier to sell things now that sites such as eBay® are available, but you won’t meet those interesting people.Start a used dental equipment business. You already know about the product and any number of catalogs and online sources can tell you the worth of anything. You would be surprised at how many dentists buy good quality, used equipment and how much more apt they are to buy from someone who knows so much about the products. If you like to tinker, you can also make broken things for which you paid very little or nothing serviceable again. Looking for used equipment, antiques, or craft fairs in exotic places is also a wonderful way to write off some of your travel.I’m sure that you can think of your own special retirement activity that suits your particular interests and talents. Start doing it now and it’ll be easier. That’s not to say that you can’t start after you retire; you can. Part of the fun then will be learning while you do. As Harry Emerson Fosdick once wrote, “Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.” Anything that you have been involved in for a good portion of your life can become a full-time hobby and/or business when you retire. How wonderful it would be to be paid to do something that you did for recreation when you were practicing! Think about it — you were smart enough to get into and through dental school ... you’re smart enough to make a plan to enjoy your retirement.You must be wondering by now why I would write such an article. You see, I’m still practicing at age 68, and I plan to continue as long as I feel good and have my clinical skills. But I’ve discovered what I want to do when I retire. I’ve written one thing or another for most of my life. I’ve written essays, short stories, professional articles, and vignettes about various things and people. Writing always seems to relax me and I enjoy doing it. I’ve even had a few things printed in Dental Economics. Maybe you have, too, or think you would like to write.Lastly, for your edification, I’ll attempt to tell you how to write a book. You’ll have to contact me if you want to know how to go about being published. It is very difficult! I can be reached at [email protected]. The easiest way to write a book, at least for me, is to write a series of short stories that are related. Each one, depending on its length, can then be conformed into one to three chapters of a book. Next you can tie them together by segueing from one to the other. Write with a theme in mind so that they can easily be related.How do I know all this? I did it! I just had a novel published, titled “Boone Springs” (available on Amazon.com), and it’s doing quite well. I wrote it from about 20 short stories that I had written over the years. I have many more stories that I plan to put together into novel form. I’m a dentist who learned how to write, and you can too. It’s a hobby and maybe a second profession that I can pursue in retirement — it’s just something I love to do. Retirement plans are important for another reason. Malcolm Forbes said, “Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did.” I happen to believe that an idle mind is as dangerous and maybe more dangerous than an idle body, and I think the literature supports that. You have been in a profession that has required you to work out complex problems and concepts all of your practice life. To simply stop using that reasoning ability and stop experiencing that stimulating activity is a dangerous thing indeed. Depression in those over age 65 is higher than in any other age group, and an idle mind is the playground for depression. Chances are that you are going to live a long time after you retire. The average length of one’s life after 65 is now approaching what used to be the average lifespan from birth to death. Your physical and mental health are inescapably related. Take care of them both if you want to keep them functioning at the maximum possible level for the maximum number of years. You have taken care of others for most of your adult life. Now it’s time to take care of yourself. You can’t choose not to age, but you can choose to enjoy it rather than succumb to it. Orta recens quam pura nites. (Newly risen, how brightly you shine.)
Dr. Rudy Dunnigan is the author of the recently published crime/drama novel, Boone Springs. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry and has been a practicing dentist for more than 40 years. Dr. Dunnigan has found time in his busy schedule to serve two terms as the Mayor of Ashland, Ky., and two terms on the Ashland Independent Board of Education. Father of two sons and grandfather of three grandchildren, he has been married to his lifelong sweetheart, Charlotte, for 42 years.
