Your retirement is coming soon
If you’re one of the many people beginning the journey into retirement you should know that you’re not alone. This is a transition like all other phases of life and being well prepared will make all the difference. What matters is understanding this is a process, one that requires a number of small steps. If you’ve made your plans, reduce your debt and have adequate savings set aside, then this is less about being a leap of faith and more about being a joyful entry point into an exciting new phase of life.
The 5 Phases of Transitioning into Retirement
Retirement is a transition – like many phases we have experienced in this life, this is a very big change indeed and we need to recognise that the adjustments will occur over time, nothing is immediate, settling into your new ways, sorting through our thoughts and feelings and identifying new and more flexible structures is all part of the exciting transition we are about to enter.
Retirement is planning – is there a perfect plan? The simple answer is No. Each of us come from very different situations but the common thread is we all want success and not too many unexpected surprises along the way. It can be very helpful in our earlier planning stages to get clear on what our objectives are in retirement and define which areas we foresee there will be significant costs and then take the time to plan accordingly. Loosely defined goals can lead to disappointment as much as a lack of adequate financial planning can burst the promise we hold for our retirement dreams coming true.
Retirement is surprises – firstly we should start by stopping or at least slowing down. This is all new to us. Of course we may question our new identity, be puzzled over what we will do next and work very hard to predict so many things in the future but at heart, don’t we really want a little more wildness, less inhibition and a bit more pluck and pizzaz to our new found lives….Perhaps we ought to stop thinking too much and allow the surprises to arrive when their ready. It’s time to let go and enjoy our choices.
Retirement is emotion – understanding this new phase in terms of emotions and feelings can help us smooth out the transition. Much is happening and the more we can manage and identify our fears, expectations and uncertainties, the easier the road ahead will be. There will be many new physical and psychological hurdles we must straddle but there is an exciting flip side as well – we have time for curiosity, time to devote to long held dreams and discovery of passions buried deep inside. As we contemplate the fact that our familiar old working lives will slowly start to fade into the background we can rejoice in the new, the present and the joy of freedom from the past.
Retirement is anticipation – one of the most exciting things about retirement is the very real anticipation of what’s to come. If you have planned and saved for this day then you have no need to worry, it’s now time to move positively forward into the next phase of your life. As you prepare for retirement it is also valuable if you begin to re-evaluate the things you wish to accomplish, investigate our motives, our goals, our beliefs. We must try to anticipate our unfamiliar footing in this new world, much can be seen as intimidating but spending time to unpack these issues before we jump can turn into a feeling of overwhelming gratitude and give us a retirement that’s absolutely gold plated.
Retiring soon? Check out my post on ‘What I learned before jumping into retirement’
