I’m beginning to believe I have a distorted vision of friendship and that the “perfect picture of female friendship” is a just a fantasy. The BFF from childhood or high-school, who remains your BFF through it all – just getting older and grayer now. The tight knit group of besties who do things together all … Continue reading Let Go of the Fantasy
Finding new connections is often a large element of retirement transition. Many people lose a sense of belonging, as they no longer have their work/career connections. A move to a new location, another element often in retirement, can exacerbate this feeling of not belonging. Having a feeling of belonging has always been a challenge for … Continue reading How Can I Feel a Sense of Belonging?
It always amazes me that when I start thinking on a blog topic, I begin seeing it talked about/written about everywhere. This synchronicity has happened recently on the topic of friendship. Relationships is a big component of retirement transition in general and one I focused heavily on at the beginning of my retirement as I … Continue reading Updating My Thinking on Friendship
Many times in the past few weeks, I’ve felt like the outsider, the one who doesn’t fit in with the cool girls, the one who isn’t asked to play at the playground, or sits at home on a weekend night when everyone is out partying. I so want to be in the inner circle, part … Continue reading Desire for Belonging
I’m having anticipatory grief. Our plan is to move this spring. I’ve lived in Cincinnati for over 30 years and I really do like living in the city. I’ve realized there are a few things I am really, really going to miss: Seeing S & L grow up. I’ve not been great at being a … Continue reading What I will miss most when we move….
In learning more about Positive Psychology, the term PERMA was shared as an easy way to think about 5 key aspects that can aid in helping put Positive Psychology into practice. Of these 5 PERMA aspects (listed below), I’ve talked about 4 in recent blog posts. The last one, relationships, is also part of the … Continue reading Putting Positive Psychology into Practice – PERMA
Retirement transition can be a challenge on a marriage as you begin spending even more time together and possibly working through individual changes. Suddenly you might be together almost 24/7. Often you have 2 people who have different ideas of what retirement is to them. Can a marriage survive this time of significant transition turmoil? … Continue reading Can Marriage Survive Retirement?
There seems to be natural moments to reflect & celebrate the past and then plan the future. For some this could be the year-end, the change of seasons, or the new moons. For me there are now two concurrent anniversaries that are making me pause to reflect and celebrate: the 4-year anniversary of retirement from … Continue reading Anniversaries – A Time to Reflect
There is a lot of research about the benefits of a strong circle of friends, especially as we grow older. It seems like all the research published the why it’s important, but little is ever written on the How to do it! How do you maintain friendships as your life dramatically changes moving into retirement? … Continue reading Investment in Friendship
At a recent conference I attended, the topic of neuroscience and its relationship to personality was presented. This is a quick snapshot of the topic – mostly because I think it’s another example of understanding yourself better, and also understanding those whom you regularly interface with better. Better understanding myself allows me to understand what … Continue reading Neuroscience – the study of brain circuitry to understand personality
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