On the meaning of retirement and finding joy in work

I saw 2 pieces of news that provided pretty good life advice recently. 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/today/up-close/sg60-retired-engineer-entrepreneur-outdoors-5279566

The article above talks about this engineer who worked punishing hours and left his semiconductor job at the age of 54.

Then, he launched his home-based food business, and another one organising outdoor adventure programs for schools and companies.

It sounds like he is busier than ever. Is he considered 'retired' then?

According to him, he is considered 'retired':

"I decided I wanted to do something else. The concept of retirement is that you get to do something that you like … you don't totally retire (from employment) but you get to do what you like, so it doesn't feel like a job," he said.

This is an interesting thought. If that is the case, I believe many who enjoy their job can be considered 'retired' as well. Some folks come to mind, such as Warren Buffett. As he said, he has probably never worked a day in his life, he has been retired since his 20s lol.

From Warren Buffett:

“if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life”

The second is DPM Gan Kim Yong's dialogue at the SG60 IPS-SBF conference: 

A question was posed to DPM Gan that went like this:

You have a very demanding job. On social media, we see two variations of your post. One is where you are flying somewhere for work. Another is where you are meeting your residents at MPS. How do you think this is sustainable? And what does it take to attract talents to do this very demanding job you are doing right now?

His answer:

I think the key really is that you must enjoy what you're doing.

When I visit countries, I enjoy meeting people and getting to understand their thinking. I always find it fascinating to discover that their ways of thinking can be very different from our own. When you meet Americans, for example, you begin to understand their psyche, their approach, and why they do certain things. When you understand their reasons—the rationale behind their actions—you compare it with your own perspective, and you realize the differences. Sometimes, these differences are very enlightening. They help you better understand how to deal with them and how to cooperate with them.

It’s not just Americans; every country is different. So when I visit countries, beyond going to expos and visiting our pavilion, I find meeting people and discovering their perspectives to be very exciting.

In Punggol, for instance, there’s a different approach. When I spend time there, I always treat it as spending time with my friends. In the evenings, I’m sure you also go out with your friends—have dinner, engage in activities, and do things you enjoy. Similarly, whenever I go down to visit my residents in Punggol, I treat it as visiting my friends, having dinner with them, and doing house visits as though I were visiting a friend’s home.

In that way, you get to know your friends better. You enjoy doing it and look forward to it. You don’t feel tired, because just like going out with friends at night, it energizes you. If you take that approach, you’ll find it more sustainable—not in the carbon emissions sense, but sustainable in terms of your interest and engagement.

If you look at it as just a job, you’ll get tired and burn out quickly. When we do these things, we need to approach them with genuine interest. You must really like doing them. That way, when you wake up in the morning, you’re excited: “Oh, I’m going to do this and that today.” But if you wake up thinking, “Oh no, I have to do this and that today,” it becomes very hard to even get out of bed.

So I encourage all of us to take a positive approach to whatever we do, so that we enjoy it and can sustain it in the long term.

In other words, try to find joy in what you do—don’t just treat it as a job. Inherently, this also means you need to find work that aligns with your personality. If meeting people drains you, it’s best to choose a role that minimizes such interactions. On the other hand, if engaging with others energizes you, look for opportunities that involve collaboration, relationship-building, and community engagement. The better the fit between your personality and your work, the more naturally you’ll sustain enthusiasm and avoid burnout.

I find what DPM Gan said above quite surprising, actually. How can the MPS session possibly be similar to meeting friends?? Those people come with their problems, you have to listen to their problems and think of solutions. If you can't solve their problems, they won't be happy. There is definitely stress involved. I don't think meeting friends involves such a situation. I think ordinary people will be burnt out after just one session. 

Blessed are those who are able to find the job they like, for their work will become a source of joy, not just a means of survival.