Creating A Succesful Retirement
“Retirement is not the end of the road. It is the beginning of the open highway.“ Unknown
If the pandemic has showed us anything, it is the realization that there is more to life. We have witnessed what has been referred to as the exodus from the cities to the suburbs and to rural areas for a larger home and yard as well as to cottages and cabins for a more peaceful and serene home life. Remote work is no more of an anomaly and workers and employers have discovered that they can achieve the same results without a long and stressful commute into the office each day. We have also seen a big jump in the number of people deciding to take an early retirement, some to enjoy a life of leisure while others seek to fulfill their dreams.
For many of us, retirement at any age is a terrifying prospect. But why is retirement so scary? Many people say they can’t wait to pull the plug, but when it comes down to the wire it becomes almost impossible to take that final step.
“Retirement: It’s nice to get out of the rat race, but you have to learn to get along with less cheese.” –Gene Perret, comedy writer
For most of our lives we are programmed to believe that we must keep working to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. When you are faced with a life of leisure the fear is that your money won’t last until your dying breath. If you have a good pension for life it should give you some comfort but if you are relying on your own savings, you will be asking yourself if you have enough. How do you know how much you will need when you don’t know how long it will have to last you?
Even when our finances are secure the fear then becomes how we are going to fill our days. For 40+ years we go to work 5 days a week, 52(ish) weeks of every year. And now faced with another 20+ years during this new chapter, that is a lot of time to fill and the prospect can be overwhelming.
You may be surprised by how much of our work is wrapped up in our identity. When you meet someone new, one of the first questions they will ask is what you do for a living. That may take some time to wrap your head around.
Another issue you may not have thought about is a loss of community. No matter what you thought of your job or career, the social interaction with our coworkers has fulfilled a key part of being human. Introvert or extrovert we all crave interaction with others. Retirement doesn’t mean that should end. Begin by scheduling lunches or sports or entertainment outings with friends. You don’t have to come across as needy, but now that you have more free time and fewer commitments you have the opportunity to spend it with the people who mean the most to you. We don’t always get along with all of our coworkers and now you only have to surround yourself with people you truly like.
It’s going to take time to adjust to your new life and how you want to fill your golden years. Don’t add to your stress by denying the anxiety you are feeling.
Begin preparing for retirement a year or two before you make your move. Talk to the experts to ease your fears, like a financial planner to determine how much you are going to have to live on, changing your investment strategy to one with a lower risk because you don’t want to lose it all in an unexpected market crash.
“Retirement is a blank sheet of paper. It is a chance to redesign your life into something new and different.” Patrick Foley author of Winning At Retirement
Consider continuing education. Have you always wanted to take an art or creative writing course or learn a new language or even begin a post grad program when you had enough time? Well now you will have the time to do that and it will help to make your transition a little easier.
“In retirement, I look for days off from my days off.” Mason Cooley, American academic
While the thought of a life of leisure might seem like a dream come true, it won’t take long before you get antsy and realize that your tv remote and your easy chair are not your best friends. Hobbies will definitely help so it’s a good idea to start to rediscover the things that make you happy before you take that leap. It may be things you enjoyed in your childhood or courses you liked in school before life got in the way and eliminated your free time to continue to practice the things you did simply for the fun of it. If you can come up with two or three hobbies or projects, it will set you up for a successful retirement and the next chapter in your life.
“There is a whole new kind of life ahead, full of experiences just waiting to happen. Some call it retirement. I call it bliss.” Betty Sullivan
