Conventional thinking: I should sacrifice my life during my productive years, doing work I don’t enjoy and not taking any significant time off so that when I am 65 I can retire and have enough money saved up to finally enjoy life. 

Contrarian thought: You productive years also happen to be the years in which you can get the most out of the many activities and opportunities for enjoyment in life.  Besides, there is no guarantee that you will live to 65.

Here are a few reasons why the work-until-retirement-at-65 thinking is flawed:

The Most Physically Capable Years of your Life are Now

Let’s face it, by the time you get to 65 you will not be able to do the many things that give you enjoyment in life with the same intensity that you have today.  Whether you are into mountain climbing, sailing, playing basketball, or whatever, now is the time to do it.  This doesn’t mean that you cannot do those things at 65, but the likelihood that you will be able to do them with high intensity and for a long period of time is significantly reduced.

There is no Guarantee that you will Live that Long

What if you die before you reach your retirement age?  Would you be willing to sacrifice the only life you have for the unknown possibility that you will one day be able to retire when you are 65?  You only have one life to live.  Don’t take any chances.  Live it now.

You will not be able to Truly Afford Retirement Anyway

Unless you are an ambitious, hardworking individual with great savings discipline, the reality of it is that you will not be able to truly retire.  Given the current savings rate in the US, the odds are against you.  Most likely the best you will be able to do without working is have a lower-middle-class lifestyle.  This is not what I would call a great way to spend your golden years.

Or, You will Not Enjoy Retirement

If you are the ambitious, hardworking type who can truly afford retirement, you most likely enjoy working.  If you enjoy working you will not like being idle during retirement, so what is the point in retiring?

Instead of putting your life on hold now so that you can maybe one day retire and enjoy life, start enjoying life now.  Balance your workload so that you can have the time and the money to do the things you want to do now.  You will get more out of life when you come to the conclusion that you will be working for the rest of your life.  The key is to make the work as enjoyable as possible and take the time to do the other things you want to do in life.

This does not mean that you should not save for retirement.  Think of retirement savings as an insurance policy in case when you are old you become physically incapable of working and need money to survive.  Just don’t get caught in the game of putting up with a mediocre existence in the hope that you will start enjoying life in retirement.

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