Good retirement planning is a balance of saving for tomorrow while maximizing your enjoyment of today. Are you holding out for when you’ll be retired “and you will get to do all those things you’ve been looking forward to doing?” Many financial advisors are wising up to the new reality of retirement. Retirement is in actuality an imaginary point on life’s path. People need to live their lives balancing enjoyment now and anticipation for later.

Now, this isn’t a license to ignore common-sense rules and throw caution to the wind with no thought to tomorrow (and, yes, some people actually live like this…). It is important to take time today to enjoy life while on the path. Surprisingly, many of the things people put off (taking care of relationships, postponing their overall well-being, reconnecting with old friends) cost little, provide perspective on what future retirement might look like, and can improve your health, which studies show helps improve your retirement finances.

The quickest route to a disappointing retirement is failing to contemplate, understand and experience what you’ll do when you get there. How will you know if you don’t do a little exploring now? Take a moment and speak with your financial advisor about the things you can do now to bring some perspective to your path to retirement.