“No one talks about it.” This is the most common thing I am hearing from people who have retired. They are referring to the time affluence that they deal with, the lack of accountability or pressure to get something done as a motivating factor.
Retirement is a stage of life that needs support and planning beyond the financial piece. For the first 65 years, we are scheduled and time structured, and busy making and completing goals. But what happens when you quit work? What are you going to do with all that free time?
I met with someone who talked about missing the accountability that came with her job. In her career, she had time management down to an expert level. Looking back, she is amazed that she accomplished so much in a day.
But a source of distress today, as someone who isn’t working, is that she continues to measure her daily success with an old measurement of accomplishment. Recognizing that she enjoys a slower pace, she misses the sense of accomplishment that she would get from work. Thinking about her plans for this newly acquired time, she realized she needed to build in her own sense of accountability and deadlines. Otherwise, the days start drifting by without feeling like she had a successful day.
This is not true for everyone who retires but I can tell you that it is mostly true in the first two years of retirement. This is when people say “No one talks about this.” With every stage of life, there is a structure in place to help us change and adjust. We start with having parents taking care of us, years of school educating us, careers and work fulfilling us, and families and communities supporting us.
Where is the support for one’s last 8000 days?
Boomers are reframing “retirement.” It is no longer an out-to-pasture image. Retirement for boomers is about traveling, playing bigger roles in generational families and support, discovering new ways of working, and starting new businesses. The potential dream is still alive and well for anyone over 65. We have a President that is 80 years old, a House Speaker who just retired at 82, and an astronaut that went back up into space at 77. With new leases on hips, knees, and hearts, boomers are still raring to go.
But we need a plan. How, when and what do we want our retirement to look like? Having goals, breaking down the steps to get there, and enjoying the journey is all part of easing into the transition of one’s last chapter in life.
Join me for a free webinar that talks about the coaching program Chapter 2 For You. www.mollymccormick.org/webinar
