The first year of retirement can be the hardest part of this new way of life. Many people find themselves feeling alone. They feel like no one cares too because everyone around them thinks they are envious of their new life of not working and doing whatever they want. The truth is that it’s not all that’s its cracked up to be. Actually, many retirees will go back to work just because they can’t handle the change in their life. Is that the answer, though? Many times, it’s not. Going back to work just brings back the old life. There’s going to be a point in which you’re not going to be able to work anymore, and then you’re going to have to deal with the first year of retirement. It’s best to work through it now. Dealing with the First Year of Retirement
Removing Yourself from Your Brand to Create a New One
Many retirees find themselves feeling lost because they have been referring to themselves in a way that they can’t anymore. For example, they may have identified themselves as “Jim from Ford.” After retirement, you are not from Ford anymore. You are just Jim. Dealing with the First Year of Retirement
Who is this person you are now without your company’s branding? Do you know?
Many people have an identity crisis in the first year of retirement. It’s normal and common among retirees. The only way to solve it is to start creating a new life. The old life is what gave you the identity you had, so now you need to make a new one. One that will give you an identity again that may be similar to the one you had before, but will be unique as well.
Dealing with the Loneliness of Retirement
Everyone gets up, gets ready, and heads out to work. You don’t have to do that anymore. You simply sit at home and you may head out and run some errands. Not exactly the hustle and bustle that you’re used to when you worked.
This loneliness you feel is again, completely normal and common. Chances are, you are feeling the loss of people around you because you are used to having all of them around.
What you can do is try to meet new people that you can incorporate into your new life. If you enjoy playing golf or other activities, you can start to do that during the week. This way you can start to have a daily schedule that will help you feel like you have a purpose. Sure, it’s fun and you may feel as though the day has to be productive, but remember, you are retired.
No one can tell you not to work. If you feel a desperate need to do some work, find something that you enjoy. Find something that may not cause you as much stress as your job did when you did work full time. If you can’t work because of financial reasons, consider volunteering. Many non-profits need your services, so your time will be appreciated.
The emotions that come along with being retired can be hard to deal with, but you can turn them to being more positive. All you need to do is change your life. When you change your life, you change the way you feel about it.
For more information on how you can make it through this stage of life successfully, contact Kendall Van Blarcom. He’s a personal consultant who can help you every step of the way through the first year of retirement and beyond.
Dealing with the First Year of Retirement
