Time is irreplaceable.
How you decide to spend it means everything.
The House Of Dragons recently wrapped up season three. A surprising character was the clear MVP. Roderick Dustin (Roddy the Ruin), Lord of Barrowtown, lead the Winter Wolves. This was a force of 2,00 Northmen who pledged their banners to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen against Aegon II’s faction during the war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
Here is what made Roderick and his Winter Wolves fan favorites. In the North there’s a brutal tradition of sending out the older warriors, often third and fourth sons to fight elsewhere in the kingdom during the harsh winters. This is done for self-preservation for the others due to a lack of food and supplies during the bone chilling freezes.
The Winter Wolves wore ragged skins, and fought with axes , spiked maces and ancient iron swords. Theirs was a one way trip. They didn’t come to fight for their queen, they came to die for her. They often served as shock troops volunteering to lead the charge awhile vastly outnumbered by the enemy.
Roderick Dustin achieved cult hero status for killing the hated Ormund by driving a sword up his ass while simultaneously having one of his own arms sliced off. He is then vaporized by Ulf White and his dragon Silver Wing in flames of fire while screaming in glory as he died in battle, not winter starvation.
The Northmen had a choice to burn out or just fade away.. They decided to die for their Queen and maximize their remaining time by ruthlessly destroying their enemies as the clock ran out.
Retirees have the same choice. This doesn’t mean pillaging neighbors in their 55+ communities. You don’t have to wake up and choose violence. There are far more civil ways to pick glory over victimhood.
Determining your terms of decline is a viable option. The Northerners decided to pivot to help conserve dwindling resources. The same can be said for retirees choosing a cause instead of passive survival. Converting one’s final chapter into stakes and meaning by starting a new business, volunteering for a purpose deep in their heart or aggressively pursuing hobbies.
The Winter Wolves had nothing left to protect, so they had everything to spend. Saving for a someday that keeps shrinking or playing it safe with little left to lose makes scant sense when faced with an unpreventable final outcome. Too many retirees underspend and sacrifice the first decade of retirement due to needless anxiety and a strange belief they can control the future. Most people have about 12 good years in retirement, not maximizing spending and activity during this term is equivalent to running out the clock instead of staying in the game.
Source: Dan Haylett
The Winter Wolves picked the vanguard, not the rear. They volunteered to go first, clearing the way for others. Retirees can do the same with their unlimited supply of experience. Using battle scars to mentor younger people isn’t a suicide charge. Hanging back where it’s safe and comfortable fills that bucket.
The good news is one doesn’t have to shove a sword up someone’s ass to find glory in their golden years. A deliberate allocation of your scarcest resource, time, will determine the result of your final battle.
We all become stories. The question becomes how will yours end?
