It's simply the best decision you will make. No matter how long you work, at whatever you do - you retire (or die first) and become redundant the next day. Accept that. Don't make the life error of attaching your sense of worth to what you do for a living. Equate retirement to freedom. And embrace every aspect of it. I had travelled lots during my working years but desperately wanted more. And I need to be outdoors and as active as possible. Body and mind. Travel makes this easy. New sports (cycling, golf, scuba diving for me) and continuing to run, hike and swim.New languages - Spanish and Italian. And find a meaningful charity for you to be involved with. I retired 4 years ago at 47 and have been travelling full time since then. At first it was 6 months Mexico and 6 months Europe for summer, but now pursing more. 16 countries in last 12 months. It's not nearly as expensive as 2-3 vacations a year. Won't be stopping as long as this body can do it :) Best times of my life.