Retiring With Attitude!
| Published: 16th May 2008 11:46 |
As retirement age approaches most people will fall into one of two main categories, namely those who are:
1. Looking forward to it; just can't wait
2. Dreading the day; what will I do?
Naturally there are those who fall somewhere in between but these two do tend to be the most likely of responses.
As for me, well I'm 6.5 years off retirement (officially anyway) and I have to admit I'm an in-between! On the one hand there's something rather sweet around the image of rising when I feel like it, spending my days relaxing or pottering about, maybe a trip to the shops or visiting friends. On the other hand I'm concerned about my days being empty and having nothing constructive or useful to do.
How about you? Does retirement hold lots of promise for you or are you dreading the fateful day?
There are many things to think about (and you're never too young to start) in the run up to retirement day (RD for short from now on) such as:
• Finances
• Keeping active
• Health
• Relationships
All too often people look forward to their RD but when it happens they find it's not quite how they thought it would be. One or more of the above factors can sabotage an otherwise idyllic time unless plans are made in advance to deal with any potential challenges beforehand (notice I said ‘challenges' not ‘problems' - a much more positive sounding word don't you think?).
In this series of articles I'll be covering each of the Retirement Factors (RF for short) in turn. What I'll be offering is food for thought rather than a prescriptive ‘you need to do' as ultimately the choice is yours. Hopefully though these articles will help you to work out what kind of retirement you want to lead and how best to prepare for it.
During the series I'll be asking you questions that will get you thinking in some depth about what exactly you do want and the impact your choices will have on you and your nearest and dearest. I'll also be sharing some personal insights (nothing too personal mind!) and offer suggestions as to how you might improve your retirement prospects.
Many approaching retirement age now are much younger in mind. The late George Harrison once said that mentally he was still in his thirties despite being in his 50s at the time. I must admit I feel the same. When my mother was approaching 60 she was looking forward to becoming a pensioner. She's 77 now and still going strong but her self-image has for some time been ‘I'm a little old lady now'. However, I think those of the next generation of retirees both look and feel younger don't you agree?
The first article will be on the subject of Finances, so do come back in a couple of weeks and take a look. In the meantime, here are some questions for you to be getting on with:
1. When you think about your RD, where are you on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 = not looking forward to it at all and 10 = I can't wait?
2. If your answer is between 1 and 5, what is it that concerns you about retiring?
3. If between 6 and 10, what are you most looking forward to?
4. Ignoring your chronological age, how old do you actually feel?
5. Which aspects of retirement (including the 4 RFs above) are of most interest or concern to you and why?
Write your answers down on a piece of paper or even better in a little notebook that you can refer back to over the series.
That's all for now. Until next time ............
Thanks to Paula Heap from the Life Coaching Practice for this feature.
What do you think?
You will need to sign in to post a comment to this article. if you do not have an AboutMyArea account, you can join now for free.
