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?
I’ve been thinking about my retirement transition a bit lately to understand if I’m done transitioning. I like being able to check things off as being done. Any transition is a journey, from the old to the new. It’ s one small step everyday. In the case of retirement transition, it’s a daily practice … Continue reading It’s Not an Overnight Transition
So much of retirement planning focuses on the financial planning - providing guidance on investment balance, cash flow management, and how much should you save. But very little talks about How-to-define your retirement life - the (many) days after the big day. How do you create your best retirement life versus just allowing it to … Continue reading Applying Innovation Expertise to Personal Innovation
I recently re-looked at the Robert Atchley (2000) 7 Stages of Retirement. He details the stages from pre-retirement through termination of retirement. I re-read his entry into retirement stage with renewed interest, as I have just passed through this stage (16 months since that day), as well as spoken to many about their own path … Continue reading Stages of Retirement
It is common in December to look back at what was achieved in the past year. At work, that is often in a year end-review. Of the life side, many of my friends send out a Christmas card year-end summary filled with their family’s (often kids!) life doings. I love getting those notes but have … Continue reading A Year End Review
I want my next stage of life to be “more play and less work” which means having a strong understanding of how my Leisure / Hobby Life Domain will come to life. Recall I’ve written about 7 Life Domains in thinking thru retirement transition. When I created my life vision using these domains, initially the … Continue reading Learning How to Play
So many of the retirement books talk about living your life’s purpose, leaving behind your legacy, and making a difference in the world. In many cases, a satisfying retirement is said to be dependent on articulating and then living according to your life purpose. Every time I read about purpose, or hear a speaker … Continue reading What is my purpose?
At this point in my retirement transition, it’s about intentionally choosing the activities that will lead me down the path towards my vision. I need to become my own Life Curator. When you consider all the potential things I can do on my Life Possibilities list – from experiences to try, classes to take, places … Continue reading So Many Possibilities, Not Enough Time – How to choose?
Health & Wellness is one of the key “Life Domains” that I needed to explore as I worked through my retirement transition. It was interesting how many retirement books and blogs mentioned this area, although I didn’t find any that addressed it in depth. (Please let me know if you have found one!) I … Continue reading Healthy Living as Part of my Transition Plan
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
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