One of the important needs that working full-time met for me was providing me with a strong sense of identity, especially since I was a workaholic with no children and no hobbies. Recall the 5 important needs that a full-time career provides: Financial Compensation, Structure & Routine, Accomplishment & Utility, Social Affiliation, and Identity & … Continue reading Who Am I?
Janis over at Retirementallychallenged published an interesting life list she had come across. (I wish I had the skill to do that last line with the appropriate link!) Her blog post made me go on-line to explore other people’s life lists to see if there were some new ideas for my own possibilities list. (There … Continue reading What’s on Your List?
Years ago, one of my MegaCorp annual performance evaluation tools we used was called “Start, Stop, Continue”. I’m not sure how broadly this was used, but it was better than the “accomplishments and weaknesses” of previous years. That was before the Discover Your Strengths phenomenon; I always hated the weaknesses area! But the start/stop/continue was … Continue reading Start, Stop, Continue
When I choose my word for the year to be Joy, I wanted to be happier every day. Transitions are hard, and I wanted to intentionally manage the roller coaster of feelings this huge change of entering retirement was creating in my life. Being the geeky researcher, I did a bunch of reading about emotions. … Continue reading Increasing Emotional Awareness
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
There is the old cliché “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Oh, I am not saying I am anywhere near being an old dog, but starting new habits/behaviors is not easy. And I find that I am my own worst saboteur when it comes to starting something new! My own inner … Continue reading Shut up Your Inner Critic
When I retired, a few well-meaning individuals informed me that the ideal retirement lifestyle for “someone like me” was 30/30/30. Meaning: 30% of my time focused on work, 30% of my time focused on volunteering, and 30% of my time focused on leisure. Simple as that – go do it. Besides the fact it … Continue reading Retirement Myth Busting
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?
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?
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