Reading Time: 3 minutesMy Retirement Didn’t Go as Expected When I retired over 10 years ago, I had no idea what retirement involved. I didn’t know it was a major life transition or what to expect. After the first-year “honeymoon phase,” I was surprised by the emotional shift that followed with the “loss and lost” phase—loss of identity, …
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Myth of a Static Retirement The biggest myth about retirement? That once you get past the adjustment phase, the rest will fall into place. Many expect some initial upheaval when they first retire, but assume that once they get it figured out, they’ll settle into a stable routine for the rest of their retirement. …
Reading Time: 3 minutesRetirement Opens Doors—But Which Ones Should You Walk Through? Retirement gives you many opportunities. It’s a time for reinventing yourself, following your curiosity, trying on new things, and being open to new experiences. However, be careful what opportunities you say yes to in retirement. Some opportunities are beneficial and work you enjoy, but they can …
Reading Time: 5 minutesRetirement Without Purpose Isn’t Freedom — It’s a Trap A few years ago I lived in a 55+ community in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Almost all of our 26,000 residents were retired. The prevailing attitude was “I’m retired, and my reward for working is to not do anything but play.” This was reflected by declining participation …
Reading Time: 6 minutesOur culture has an unwritten expectation that a retired person will be unproductive. The very words “retire” or “retirement” perpetuate the myth that old age is an unproductive time in life and imprints the belief that people in their later years should simply sit back or indulge in a recreational activity like golf. The Seven …
Reading Time: 3 minutesBreaking the Saving Habit in Retirement We’ve been taught to save, not spend, all our working lives. The goal is to prepare for retirement. However, when we retire, it’s hard to reverse that approach and spend some of our money on things that make us happy. Statistics show that seniors actually spend less the longer …
Reading Time: 4 minutesYour Career and Family Gave You Purpose—Now What? Most of us don’t realize how much our job defines us—until it’s gone. For decades, work gave us a built-in sense of purpose and identity. We wake up every morning knowing what we need to do and who we are in the world. But retirement changes that. …
Reading Time: 3 minutesTaking Small Steps: Treating Coaching Training as an Experiment I’ve decided to follow my curiosity and interest in reinventing my own retirement and helping others to reinvent theirs. My first experiment in this direction was to complete the written materials in a Certified Professional Retirement Coach (CPRC) course. Having finished this, I’m now in the …