When you think about your third act, where does your imagination take you? Travel, the Great Outdoors, part-time work, hobbies, fitness, service, mentoring, grandchildren – there are many avenues when thinking ahead to this important chapter in our lives.
Retirement readiness is most often associated with money: Is there enough in the bank to retire? This is an important question because financial security is a natural buffer in life. As a certified coach specializing in mid-life transitions, I don’t minimize this emphasis, however planning ahead on how you will spend time, not just your money, is also necessary. It’s a matter of being proactive rather than reactive and requires us to dig deeply to ask the question, “What’s next for me?”
In previous generations retirement was considered more of an end point. Today, it can be a vital new beginning. For this to happen, an investment needs to be made, with a consideration of time as a currency. On average, retirement lasts over three decades and offers many phases and stages. The goal of financial independence is securing a comfortable lifestyle that takes into consideration the ever-changing scenarios related to aging.
The question becomes, when every day is Saturday, how do you create meaningful contrasts, balancing novelty with routine? It’s the paradox of leisure: When all you have is free time, for some it can start to feel like work to fill it. During the “Decompression Phase” of retirement, time is an ally, with energy going toward taking that long awaited trip that lasts more than two weeks, or puttering around the house with home projects, taking leisurely lunches with friends, an extra round of golf or an afternoon matinee. Once the novelty wears off and life starts to normalize, the reality is there are a lot of hours to fill each day. It’s going from a model of time scarcity to time abundance. Having a newly minted, meaningful life plan in place allows you to feel more secure with the natural shifts this existential transition brings to the surface.
Figuring out what “The good life” looks like to you is the goal and this is definitely not a one-size-fits-all plan. The dream of a realistic, yet idyllic, post-work phase of life is certainly within reach, but it doesn’t happen on its own. There are some ways to get started to help prepare and create some comfort and confidence in the process.
First, think about the people in your life you admire in their third act. How do they spend their time? What’s their approach to everyday life? Ask them questions to better understand what is beneath the surface, both the joys and the challenges. Their responses and your inner voice will reflect your values and vision and may offer clues for how you want this next chapter to unfold.
Second, take inventory of your past interests and hobbies and see what still has appeal and potential. Think back: music, arts and crafts, sports, volunteering—to name a few. Once you have come up with a list, make it a point to regularly explore if it’s a fit again, or find an alternative that meets your abilities and interest today. Also, consider what activities you currently enjoy in your free time and find out if doing it more often is better or just becomes a drain. That sweet spot is what you are after.
Third, have conversations with your significant other to see how aligned your visions are when thinking about this all important life transition. One person may dream of traveling the world, while the other wants to stay closer to home. It is important to communicate and share ways to find common ground when it comes to scaffolding what life will look as a couple in this next chapter. Time together and apart can be hard to balance at first, but research tells us that compatible couples with an interdependent relationship have the most success in their retirement years. Honest communication goes a long way in charting a path that allows for flexibility and compromise. After all, adaptability is one of the most important attributes to have in later years and what better place to practice this trait than with your loved one?
And finally, if this transition is in the near future, it is smart to practice your new lifestyle. That way you can work out the kinks before you invest too deeply emotionally and financially. If you are planning to stay closer to home, take your vacation time and just stay put and pretend you are already retired. Try and organize around the life you intend to live and see how it feels. Do spending habits change when you have time on your hands? Do you have enough companionship beyond your spouse? Does life feel full enough? If you have more of an appetite for adventure, go out and practice that lifestyle. I am taking my own advice and renting a camper next summer with my husband to see how it feels to be on the open road. We imagine what this experience will be, but there is nothing like getting some miles in to really know whether it’s a fit. What’s important is to plan some practice rounds to assess and perhaps modify.
I love the quote from The Natural and find it fits well here, “I believe there are two lives, the one you learn with and the one you live after that.” Knowing yourself and planning ahead with your wisdom and instincts will generate a good life, your good life.
Enjoyed examining this, very good stuff, regards. “To be positive To be mistaken at the top of one’s voice.” by Ambrose Bierce.
I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
Neat blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your design. Kudos
July 18, 2012Hey Chad, if I had the answer to your qiostuen, I’d stop blogging and start trading full-time. Personally, I’d recommend taking a long-term perspective on investing. Right now, I think there are some great values out there in the public equity markets due to the amount of fear and uncertainty. That doesn’t mean things can’t get worse before they get better though. Also, if you sell an investment for a gain in less than one year you pay a higher tax rate on your gains. My approach is a value-based investment approach where I try to buy great companies and hold on to them for a long time. Unless anyone else has a suggestion, I’m on the side of investing for the long-run.
Hello, I log on to your blogs on a regular basis. Your writing style is awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!
You made some really good points there. I checked on the web to learn more about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this web site.Feel free to surf to my blog post cheap lv handbags
Hello there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!
Hey! I understand this is sort of off-topic however I had to ask. Does running a well-established website like yours take a large amount of work? I’m brand new to running a blog but I do write in my journal daily. I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my personal experience and views online. Please let me know if you have any recommendations or tips for new aspiring blog owners. Thankyou!
Hi there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thanks
To illustrate, a report in Journal of Investigative Dermatology points out that the skin can actually use circulating cholesterol to make the hormone androgen. Laser resurfacing can be done in the dermatologist office instead of a hospital so that provides a much greater financial savings.
1)Do you think you’ll have enough money for a ctaboromfle retirement?Does not apply. I love my career as an artist and hope to die with the tools of the trade in my hands.2) Do you plan on receiving the social security benefits that have been promised to you?Sure, I’m a boomer. I plan to tap in at 62. But my intent is to pass it along every month to someone in one of the following generations. There’s some delicious irony there.3) What % of your income do you save today for retirement?When I work my savings rate is usually around 40-50%. But let me say that life so far has been like a long summer vacation. I have taken as much as a year to enjoy myself and recharge my batteries several times in my adult life. I rarely reject an offer to go river rafting or fishing (which are very low cost and high enjoyment activities). On the financial side, I sold my suburban home four years ago and rent a small farm now. The cash is well invested (I hope) since it has more than doubled in that time. To buy in my locale would cost me at least triple what I now pay in rent. 4) Where would you like to retire?I’m an avid, no, really I’m a compulsive food gardener and tree grower. Soil, water, four real seasons and open spaces blow my skirt up. I’ll stay in the USA and take my chances with the coming times since my tribe is here. 5) How old are you, and what age do you plan on retiring?The answer to part one is that I’m just about to turn 61. For part B see the above.A little rambling: The real goal is to have a good life. Keep it simple and full of heart. Be joyful doing vigorous work. Eat healthy food not poisonous crap. My key to having enough money has been to tighten down the outflow spigot rather than exert myself in the mind numbing quest for big bucks. Oh yeah, exchange goods and services with others because the return is much greater (though a bit difficult to quantify). You have all seen pictures of some ancient and very wrinkled peasant in bib overalls holding a bunch of grapes with a twinkle in his eye and a wise smile on his face. This is not a bad goal. Finally, it is better to die deservedly well loved than rich.
Hey I am so delighted I found your webpage, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching on Yahoo for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a incredible post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I have bookmarked it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the fantastic work.