I’m Going To Retire, What Will Happen To My Life?

Retirement is a paradoxical time where a huge achievement comes with a huge loss. This is why many people feel confused when they retire. In this sense, retirement is when working life is over and a new stage of stability begins. This new existence can generate many questions about the future.

The narrowest definition of retirement is that the role in an active working life is completely over. It can come as a result of a person’s age or various health conditions that do not allow them to continue their work. How much retirement will affect a person depends on many different factors. Whatever the reason, there will always be a big change.

Work and employment are one of the most important pillars on which our lives are built. You basically organize all your daily routines around the work. This aspect of your life determines your schedule and how much time you can spend on other things. The job also often determines what goals you have, it affects your perception of yourself, and has an impact on what you define as your life’s successes and failures. This is why you should set up a good retirement plan.

Retiring: A process with many stages

The retirement process has many stages. Each of the stages represents a step forward on the path to adapting to one’s new life. It is by no means an easy path to navigate. However, it will be much easier for you if you have enough information to meet the upcoming challenges.

Here are the different stages of retirement:

• Pre-retirement : This is the stage where the person begins to realize that their working life is coming to an end. This phase starts when someone is about to retire. People in this stage will also start thinking about life after retirement.

• Novelty / Curiosity : When the person leaves their job, it is normal that they experience enthusiasm that they have much more free time they can decide for themselves and enjoy as they want.
• Disappointment : This stage usually occurs after a few months of retirement. The person’s mood can change from depressed to hyperactive, and all of this can be mixed with anxiety. This happens because their new life does not seem to live up to the expectations the person had in the first place.
• Redirection : This is the stage where the person will readjust their old expectations to this new phase of life. They reassess the situation and set new goals in a more realistic and appropriate way.
• Adaptation : Here they will organize their new routines and shape new life projects, both short- and long-term. These will be designed to fit into the new conditions in which a pensioner lives.

How can one handle retiring in a good way?

Not everyone who wants to retire experiences the same stages in the same order. Some people have already planned how to organize their lives after retiring in a good way, which means that they will not face so many unexpected situations. They are already ready when they retire. Other people, on the other hand, enter this stage very confused. These people do not know what to do or what to expect.

Different schedules, routines and environments will definitely change your life to a greater or lesser degree. Life as a retiree tends to require less activity. In addition, you can also go through a period where you grieve over the loss of a job and colleagues you have left behind, as well as everything you did not achieve.

Despite all this , you should not overlook the fact that retiring in itself is a great achievement. If you handle it well, it can open up a new and beautiful stage in your life. At this stage it is possible to find new paths that will lead you towards achieving other things. In this regard, there are some steps you can take to help you see this experience in a positive light.

Steps you can take to improve your life as a retiree

• Deliberately prepare to retire. You should start preparing when you are about to retire – if possible, already in your final year of work. This does not mean that you have to worry about the future. Rather, it means that you should analyze what options you have. Make a list that contains everything you enjoy doing. This list should include everything you stopped doing because you did not have enough time because of your job.

• Have an active pre-retirement. You do not have to wait to retire to start with the projects you want to work on and complete when you retire. Start these projects one or even two years before you have your last day of work.
• Strengthen your social relationships. Retirement is a great time to explore your friendships. There are guaranteed to be many people who are in the same boat as you. That said, it’s a good idea to spend time caring for the people around you.
• Change focus. Do not get stuck in the past. Look forward. What is gone is gone. It is best to concentrate on what is to come and to feel excited about all the new opportunities that will present themselves.

No major change in our lives comes without a certain emotional pain. We can also call it “suffering”. You need to be aware of this. You must also know that retiring brings with it certain changes in your life. Changes that can renew your passion, if you have an open enough attitude to explore them.