Parallels from a Younger You!
I find many parallels between a young adult just starting out in life and an older adult beginning retirement. Young adults usually have to make the transition from student to employee, then career, then family etc. Each of these is a very different stage of life, although each overlaps with the other stages. Retirement is very similar.
It might help to look at retirement as four overlapping stages of life, just as your life changed in your younger years. Here are four I suggest:
- Working Semi Retirement
- Very Active Traditional Retirement
- Traditional Retirement
- Encourager Retirement
Working Semi Retirement
Working Semi Retirement might be compared to that earlier time in life where you were in transition between a student and a career. Maybe you have a job, but you are not trying to make a new career. Or maybe you try different options to see which ones work for you, and you do start a new career or business.
In this stage you are trying new things and exploring to see what sticks. Possibly you work just enough to pay some basic bills, or you are so excited about a new possibility that you jump in with both feet. Now might be a time to do some of that traveling that you always wanted to do.
Very Active Traditional Retirement
In this stage you possibly work a little less, and play and explore more. Maybe you travel, explore new hobbies, or keep learning just for the sheer joy of it.
This may be a time when you step up your volunteer work and concentrate on helping others.
Traditional Retirement
I call this stage traditional retirement because it reminds me of what I thought retirement would be like when I was younger. Maybe this is a more laid back time. You are still active and busy but life does not move at the frenzied pace of previous years.
Maybe your heath and energy are not the same as in previous times. You still travel but it is a little less adventurous.
Encourager Retirement
I call this the encourager phase because I think this should be a time when the focus is more on others than yourself. You have slowed down considerably. Getting around is a little more difficult and maybe you can no longer drive?
This is a time to pass on some wisdom you have learned over the years. Maybe you do some writing. Send greeting cards and thank you notes to everyone. Find ways to use kind words and encourage the people around you.
The Stages are Different for Everybody!
Not everyone goes through all the stages. Some people will never stop working, either by necessity or because they love what they do. Others will stay active well into old age. Still others will have the stages forced upon them too soon due to health issues.
So why think about and discuss these stages in retirement? There are two main reasons. First, I think it is important to think of retirement as a new beginning. It really is just like that time in your life when you had finished school and were fresh and new and had an exciting life ahead of you!
Second it helps in planning and thinking about what you will due in the different stages. That way as you find yourself in a new stage it is not a surprise, or something to be concerned about! It is simply another phase in your retirement adventure.
Speak Your Mind