After 2 years into retirement, it seems like my weeks are either full of (self-chosen) activities or completely empty. Full and happy, this-is-great weeks. Or boring, am-I-failing-at-this-retirement-thing weeks. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need a life-concierge, one who is better at time management than me! When you are the concierge of your own … Continue reading Feast or Famine
Doing some cleaning-out (Yes, I am trying to do the Marie Kondo method – not super successfully, but trying!), I just found a list of “quotes” in a notebook from about 10 years ago. They are a bit of guidance to myself on how to live life fully - using your mind and making conscious … Continue reading Does the knowing make the doing any easier?
I’m a type-A, high achiever. I am intelligent and disciplined. I work hard at tasks given and make things happen. And I want to let my (inner) bad-girl out! I play by the rules. I do what is expected. I was (am) the good girl - the honor-roll student, the responsible daughter, the met-expectations employee, … Continue reading Let the Bad Girl Out!
One of the things I have tried to do during retirement transition is to stay positive about the changes happening. I have to admit, I am more a pessimist by nature and yes, I defiantly have RBF (for those new to that term….resting bitch face). During my work career, my pessimism showed up … Continue reading Turn that Frown Upside Down
Inspired by Mr Firestation’s blog on his “spark areas” about what he expects to be doing the first year of retirement, I took a look at what I am having fun doing! After my recent post on what-do-you-do, this list of things I’m having fun doing was eye-opening. Here are some of the … Continue reading What am I having fun doing in retirement?
Learning the joy of an empty calendar is not easy. Busy is a sign of worthiness, a sign of being needed and wanted, a sign of achievement and success. I found that a completely empty calendar just made me feel worthless, adrift, and unhappy. On a recent trip to our beach cottage, this was highlighted … Continue reading Joy in an Empty Calendar?
As I have been working through my retirement transition, a series of mantras have helped me along the journey. I repeatedly go back to these statements when I hit some of the lows or stumble on this path forward. 1) Keep a positive attitude. This isn’t rocket science. Many, many people have successfully navigated the retirement … Continue reading Words of Wisdom to Myself
When was the last time you truly changed a life pattern? Stopped a long-term habit? Started a new habit, formed a new relationship, or learned a new skill? Changing patterns is not easy – and even a huge change like retirement transition doesn’t make creating new habits a simple task. You do not wake up … Continue reading Breaking through the Barriers
So retirement is all happy, happy, happy, right? Not so much this first year where it felt a little bit like a roller coaster. Many happy, stress-free days but also, the low points did happen. You try something and get negative feedback. You lean in for something and get rejected. You feel totally uncertain … Continue reading The Lows of Transition
In my exploration on Retirement Transition, I found myself delving into positive psychology. Positive psychology is the science behind happiness. I have always lived under the premise of something will happen by design or by default. You can either plan for it and design it, or it will just happen. Either way, you will live … Continue reading Happiness By Design
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