For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare us for high school. But we don’t wait until we are seniors in high school to prepare for college. College preparation starts earlier so we are ready for applying to colleges. Similarly, we don’t wait until we are seniors in college to decide a direction for a career. That starts earlier with declaring a major and securing a few internships.
Once we begin our careers, we learn the skills needed to advance through experience, mentors, and observation. Employee handbooks outline the policies and procedures to make sure we follow the norms. But when our careers come to an end, where do we learn how to be retired? Where do we find the handbook to guide us in this next phase of life?
We are living in uncharted territory—life expectancy has increased, along with changing expectations of aging. While these changes present challenges, it also offers opportunities. Richard Leider, author of “The Power of Purpose” was involved in a 2009 survey by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, titled “Discovering What Matters: Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning.” The study revealed that as people reach retirement age, “meaning trumps money in defining the good life.” Leider concluded, “The good life consists of health, finances, and doing what’s important. But it is not always easy to figure out what’s important.
One of my previous Forbes.com articles outlined how to continue to learn and grow. It described learning opportunities such as workshops, classes, online learning, and lessons. These are just a sampling of how we can stay active, engaged, and relevant.
While there’s no official roadmap, “user’s manual,” or handbook for retirement, the most common practice is to work with a financial advisor to develop a financial plan to ensure you have the funds to support your lifestyle including the costs of health and insurance. But once you have the financial part figured out, it is the nonfinancial aspects of retirement that are of concern:
How will I spend my time?
What is my purpose?
How will I interact with others?
What is my reason for getting up in the morning?
Create A Vision For Your Retirement
Companies create vision statements for where they want the company to go. It is futuristic and should be inspirational. The same is true for your vision for your retirement. Creating a vision depends on your situation such as marriage, children, grandchildren. If you are in a relationship, the vision should be created by the two of you to make sure you are on the same page.
When I was younger, I didn’t understand when people would get divorced because “they grew apart.” But I understand how that happens if people are growing in different directions or are not communicating about what matters most to them. It often helps to have a coach, someone who can facilitate conversations around how both of you envision living the next decades of your lives together. What does it look like? How much time do you want to travel? Do you want to invest in a second home? Do your children and grandchildren live close or far away?
Seek Out Role Models
We can learn from watching how others are living out their lives. Look for role models who are living in ways that look attractive to you. Ask yourself, “What is it about their lives that inspire and interest me?” You may or may not know these people, but we can learn a lot from observing others.
Conclusion
A handbook or manual for retirement is a mix of financial preparation, personal reflection, and exploration. Retirement is often a time where we have more freedom and flexibility. You feel more secure if you plan ahead, but life can throw us some curve balls. So we need to also be flexible as life unfolds. A successful retirement is not about having a lot of money or being smart. It is about making intentional choices about how you allocate your resources of time, energy, money, and attention.
It is exciting creating your own handbook for how you want to live the rest of your life. How can the rest of life be the best of life for you? What does that look like for you? Who might help you achieve this vision? There is no better time to start than now.
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