What If We Never Get to Retire?
By Evi Goossens — travel storyteller & creative freelancer
Ubud Bali, Indonesia — Februari 2026
Reading time: 8 minutes
I'm slowly coming to the realization that I may never get to retire. People are living longer, and as a result, the retirement age keeps rising. Over the past few days, I've been thinking—not about retirement, but about work. If I'm going to keep working until the very end, it might as well feel like a hobby that got out of hand.
Some people don't have a hobby. Yet I often find myself looking at these people with a hint of jealousy. Questions appear in my mind that I rarely dare to ask. The amount of time and space you must have left over, I think to myself. Especially since I have too many hobbies to count.
Still, it is often the people without hobbies who dedicate all their energy to their work. Working from sunrise to sunset, coming home, making dinner, taking a shower, and going to bed—only to wake up the next day and do exactly the same thing all over again.
There is nothing wrong with that. Especially not if your work is your hobby. But in many cases, that isn't actually the case. Many people come home exhausted after work and find comfort in spending the evening mindlessly relaxing. It feels like the only way to recharge before another day begins.
For these people, the news about a rising retirement age may hit especially hard. The idea of never really retiring is not exactly appealing—especially when you already spend your weekdays counting down to the weekend. Let alone when you have to add another four years on top of the age at which you originally expected to retire.
That is why having hobbies is more important than ever. Not to escape the daily workload, but to completely immerse yourself in something. To turn your hobby into your work. Something you would still do even if you weren't paid for it. Something that radiates passion and gives meaning to the short time we actually have on this planet.
Work that grows out of a hobby is often driven by intrinsic motivation. You do it because you enjoy it and because it feels meaningful—not simply because you earn money from it. This allows you to sustain your work for longer, increases productivity, and reduces emotional exhaustion. Every day feels like a gift because you get to work, rather than having to work.
As someone who has experienced both sides, I can clearly describe the difference. During the years I spent in a job I didn't enjoy, even the salary wasn't worth it. I was paid well, so that wasn't the issue. The issue was that I was slowly compromising parts of my authenticity and ignoring my own boundaries.
You begin to forget parts of yourself simply because there is a satisfying number waiting in your bank account at the end of every month. Watching those numbers grow feels good, but at what cost did they get there?
I look forward to the days when I want to wake up early because I get to work again. When I don't want to stop because I am completely absorbed in what I am doing. When I look outside, disappointed, as the dark veil of evening slowly covers the sky. Ending the day feeling fulfilled. Not empty because of what the day took from me, but full because of what I created.
That is a feeling I wish for everyone. For the people who walk through their workdays on autopilot and need to recover every evening. For the people who believe they don't have a hobby. And for the people who think they are incapable of doing anything other than the job they currently have.
Our time on Earth is limited. None of us knows when our final day will arrive. Whether you make it to seventy-two or not, retirement is never guaranteed. And the money you expect to receive from it may never come.
That is why it is so important to truly pursue what you want to do. Without the judgment of others. Without the fears that keep you awake at night. You almost owe it to yourself to look beyond what is familiar and search for something that genuinely makes you happy.
Something that makes you want to get out of bed every single day—not because you have to, but because you get to.
