Add Some Excitement to Your Future: Redefine Your Retirement
- scary
- the next phase
- “refire-ment”
- re-wire-ment
- encore
- desirement (my personal favorite)
- Jane Fonda calls it the “Third Act”
- Jimmy Buffett calls it – well, Margaritaville!
- Some studies show working or volunteering during retirement helps.
- Other studies show that working or volunteering has no effect.
- Still other studies show that retirees who use the Internet to stay in touch with friends and family feel better about themselves.
- But the majority of research about Internet use shows its increased use correlates strongly with increased depression.
The Minneapolis Life Coach wants to know: what will you call the time of your life previously known as “Retirement?”
- They know what gives them meaning … and it’s not their 9-5
- They are wise investors
- They’re in a good mental state
- They want to spend more time with their families and other people they love
- They want to align their day-to-day activities even more closely with their core values
“But I like to work!”
Sure, sure. We all love to be loved, need to be needed. Productivity is so important to so many Americans! Work does provide some of that for most of us. But think about it:
- Are you really fulfilled by your 9-5?
- If you left today, would you really be missed?
- Does your work truly give you the opportunity to be creative?
- Are you sacrificing your life’s purpose for a need to be productive?
Now, think about your family. Or, if you don’t have one, consider the things and people that bring true meaning to your life.
- Are you fulfilled in your relationships?
- Where do you get the majority of your contentment and satisfaction from?
Chances are, it’s from the things you do and the people you spend time with outside of work. Or, if you have a particularly fulfilling career, there might be one or two aspects of it you wish you could do more of – or areas you wish you didn’t have to do so much of. Here’s a news flash: many “retired” people still dabble in consulting in their area of expertise, but they pick and choose their clients because they are financially independent. They don’t need the money, the just love to do what they do!
Retirement: A Radical New Way to Think About (and Enjoy!) Your Life
Who is this person, though? Many of us have lost touch with him or her. But the good news is, each of us has an abundance of capacity: our vibrancy can be rebuilt based on what we know we want to change and what we know about how we’d like to grow and move forward.
As your retirement coach, I can teach you a radical new way to think about and enjoy your life. Getting off of your current treadmill and into a retired lifestyle is almost unimaginable to most people where I live, which happens to be in the United States, ground zero for self-imposed treadmills.
Once you are off the mill, you’ll feel like Neo did when he woke up in The Matrix and looked around at the other imprisoned humans. “Wait a minute!”, you will say. “I’ve been living in this ridiculous slave world and never noticed … but everyone else still is! WAKE UP DRONE PEOPLE!!!.”
You will suddenly be able to move freely through the world, free from having to work for a living, able to start living life as you choose, doing exotic things like spending time raising your young children or grandchildren, taking a 3-week vacation each month, or just enjoying a low-key life of leisure, which can include decadent activities like volunteer work in your local schools, writing a book, serving on a local Executive Board or sweeping your driveway in pajamas at 11am on a sunny Thursday morning.
Is Retirement Coaching Right for you? Find out today.
Retirement Offers Unlimited Possibilities … Which Can Be Overwhelming
Earlier this year, I stumbled upon this article in Rolling Stone Magazine, announcing Jimmy Buffet’s plans to create a string of retirement communities based on his classic “Margaritaville” for people “55 and better.” “Inspired by the legendary music and lifestyle of singer, songwriter and best-selling author Jimmy Buffett, your new home in paradise features exciting recreation, unmatched dining and FINtastic nightlife,” the Latitude Margaritaville site says. At first I read “FIN” as a nod to another of Buffet’s classic songs (“fins to the left, fins to the right, and you’re the only bait in town.”) But then I realized it’s an acronym, used in a lot of online forums and communities by young people looking for Financial INdependence (FIN) … a.k.a. retirement! There it was again: that aspiration to retire and be free to create the life of one’s dreams, and according to one’s unique values.How Life and Retirement Coaching Can Help
What do you desire? Knowing that your life is built on your strengths and the wisdom you’ve gained over your day to day choices can be a path to a healthy retirement. Retirement is a time of great change, and a chance to begin an exciting new phase of your life. But like anything done well, it takes planning. Whether you think you are ready to retire or not, I have found in my work as a life coach that not everyone is truly prepared. That’s why Revitalize Life Coaching, my life coaching practice based in Minneapolis, created a retirement readiness assessment so you can see for yourself which areas need attention. Feedback from this assessment will help you gauge your current retirement readiness and build a comprehensive plan to live your retirement dreams. Should you take a retirement readiness assessment? Answer these life coaching-style questions to help you determine if a retirement readiness assessment is right for you. In retirement, do you have a plan for:- Continued personal learning?
- Changes in income, health and/or lifestyle that may affect your financial security?
- Maintaining your sense of purpose and self-worth?
- How you will spend your time with fulfilling activities and interests? Both short-term / (usually includes travel) & long-term.
- Interaction with others to build and maintain enjoyable relationships?
- Managing family commitments (aging parents, children, grandchildren)?
- Where you will live?
- Ensuring a healthy attitude towards life and retirement?