There are so many things to consider as you contemplate your future. You need to see the "Big Picture", as best as you can, and you also need to look at your daily life and think of how it will be impacted if you retired or as we call it rewired! To help you with your thought process here are more tips to consider:
Accept retirement as a time of - and for - change.
Think about what will change in your life, and what you want to change. Also cite what you don’t want to have changed.
Get to know yourself.
Make time to discover who you really are. Spend time alone each day. Don’t negate your own ideas. Capture even your off-beat thoughts in your journal, and refer to it often.
Determine what you want in retirement vs. what you need.
Wants and needs are two different things. Needs are what you have to have, and wants are what would be nice to have. Create a checklist for each.
Fill in the blanks on What happiness is---.
Think about your current life and jot down what in it makes you most happy. Also note what’s missing that you would like to have.
Talk to former and current work associates about their retirement plans.
Openness can lead to answers and solutions. Find out what has been successful and what would they do differently. Create a composite of traits and activities that you admire in others’ retirements and would seek in your own. Discover to what they attribute their success.
Try phasing into retirement.
Many employers will consider transferring employees to jobs with reduced responsibilities, schedules and pay as a step prior to entering full retirement. Investigate opportunities within your organization.
Talk to family members.
Share your retirement plans with those close to you. You and your family need to communicate at this time. Don’t risk having them feel left out or being the last to know. Don’t be swayed by their comments if they don’t work for you. If you hit communications roadblocks with your partner, consider counseling.
Go out on top.
It’s great to set your own agenda and leave on a high. Prior to this year the last seven winning Super Bowl coaches retired after they won the Super Bowl.
