Some of us have control over when and how our career ends. Others don’t, due to mergers, acquisitions, shifts in management, or strategic direction, restructuring, or unexpected personal events including changes in health.
When writing my book, Why Me? And No Gold Watch! I interviewed a number of people who lost their jobs and now are retired. Here are a couple of quotes from my discussions:
“Recently, my job was out-sourced, and I was terminated. It was a huge shock and for several weeks I felt a range of emotions, everything from anger to despair. Then I began to pick up the pieces and never looked back.” Rogers B. consultant
“I resigned from the fire department after failing my annual physical. I deeply miss the brother-and-sisterhood.” Jack W., newly retired
“I loved my job at the post office, but it didn’t love me. Bad weather, continual technological changes, and ever-tightening deadlines – I knew it was time to call it quits and retire. Peggy S.
When most people think about retirement, they imagine leaving a job they dislike, dropping out of the rat race, and turning their back on the pressures of employment. They often see retirement as a welcome change or an escape to something more peaceful and serene.
However, retiring is not only about giving up or being forced out, and spending days relaxing, it’s also about entering one of the most exciting and challenging stages of life. Retirement can be a time to realize your potential and accomplish significant goals that you delayed because of the responsibilities of managing a career and raising a family.
But a successful retirement doesn’t come without its hurdles. There are many considerations such as: living on a reduced income; creating a health and wellness strategy; examining relationships with family, friends, and spouse/partner; allocating personal time; establishing living arrangements; adopting and adapting to different social roles; and many others.
Unsuccessful retirees mainly see retirement as an escape. They tend to see retirement as a vacation, and they try to fill their days the same way they did when on vacation – unfortunately, vacation activities become boring as well as expensive.
Successful retirees are often glad to leave their job, in most cases voluntarily, in some, involuntarily, and they look forward to having more time for the things they enjoyed when on vacation. However, successful retirees have a clear concept of what makes for a well-rounded, holistic, happy, and stimulating retirement. Many acquire this information from people who are already living a successful retirement. They may have read books and articles on retirement planning and/or attended webinars and workshops to learn how best to plan for the rest of their life.
Successful retirees take all their accumulated information and apply it in two ways:
- They build their own realistic and well-rounded vision of retirement
- They create and implement a plan to make it happen!
My blogs, articles, books, workbooks, workshops, webinars, and a self-directed 10-module course, are all designed to assist boomers build their retirement vision and plan. It is my intent to provide insight and direction without compromising one’s own decision-making process.
So now the choice is yours. Whether to decide to ‘hang up your skates’ or life forces you to leave the workforce, if you are somewhere between the ages of 45 to 65, it’s time to explore your future as a retiree.
Congratulations on being among those who take a proactive interest in retirement. I wish you all the best in developing a plan that enriches your life.