What will I do after I retire?

"We become what we think about all day long."  Wayne Dyer

Thinking about work has been programmed into us for years.  Who hasn't asked questions such as "What will I do?", "What's on my schedule today?", "What has to be accomplished?", and "How can I do or make more money to support my family and live the lifestyle I want?"  

To many, work is their identity. Just go to any networking event and the first questioned asked is "What do you do?" It seems fitting then that the first retirement success factor is Work Reorientation which is defined as the degree to which you have emotionally distanced yourself from taking your personal identify from your work.

For some this will be easy but for many leaving your work identity behind when you retire will take some work. Dr. Robert Johnson writes "In order to healthily shift into the "new retirement" mode, we must jettison our old conception of ourselves and take-on a new self-definition, one that necessitates that we move away from, even disengage from our old way of seeing ourselves and try-on a new way."

Successful self-reorientation begins with asking "Who am I?" and "Who do I want to be in the years to come?" The shift is from "doing" to "being" and while these questions open up infinite possibilities, they are often very difficult articulate. To not define yourself by what you do but by who you are is a shift that must be made to successfully transition into retirement. Research shows that individuals who cling to their work identify after retirement AND don't work to create a new self identity continue to live in the past and are unable to fully enjoy and reap the rewards of their retirement years.

Spend time on these two questions and you'll be on the path to a successful retirement.  If you need some help, we're here to help!  

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A proven assessment tool that identifies personal retirement strategies and concerns for individuals over 50 who are planning or who are already retired. This tool measures 15 factors that research has proven to be crucial for success in retirement.   

For more information on taking this profile, call Theresa at 301.419.2835 or email me at theresagalespeaks@gmail.com with your contact information (email and phone number) and I'll be in touch.