Written by: Adele Chee, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Generally, when people think about retirement, they think “ceasing to work”. When I think about retirement, I think of it as the stress-free period in one’s life where they have the time, money and health to do everything they love. By this interpretation, I’m retired. I enjoy helping others discover their full potential and thrive in their authentic lives. It makes my heart sing that I’m able to do this daily. Furthermore, being the master of my own time and in the pink of health, I’m able to travel and write as and when I desire.
In my experience, there are the 3 crucial needs for a smooth transition into retirement:
Define – what does life in retirement look like for you?
Prepare – what will you need to sustain your life in retirement?
Implement – what do you need to do today to bring you a step closer to your envisioned retirement life?
First Need: Define
Defining what retirement means for you. If you don’t know what you want to do in your retirement, how would you know how much money you will need and when can you retire? If you don’t know how much money you will need and by when, how will you know what you need to do to get enough of it in order to retire? Also, yes, money is an important component in the retirement equation, but it is not the only necessity.
I would add that knowing what life in retirement would look like for you early can serve as a North Star and become a tangible purpose for the choices that you make in your life today ‒ helping you to be more intentional when deciding on matters that affect your quality of life, i.e., career, health, finances, relationships, and activities. This is why I believe that you should be thinking about retirement even before starting your first job. If you must know, yes, I envisioned multiple versions of this life I am currently living when I was still in my teens.
That said, whether you’re in your 20’s, 30’s, 60’s, or already retired, the crucial need here is to define what is the retirement lifestyle you want to have lest you end up with a sense of loss when you get there and misspend your golden years.
Some of the common themes I’ve heard when a person says that they are looking forward to retiring are:
to be done with the monotony of the daily grind that they are in
to have the freedom to do whatever they want
to finally enjoy the hard-earned money they have saved
to put their feet up and relax
The key here is clarity and specificity, especially so for the things that you want for yourself. Hence, here are some prompts to ask yourself as you look forward to your retirement years:
What are the varied and exciting experiences I want to do daily?
What do I want to use my freedom for?
What would I enjoy spending my hard-earned money on?
What would keep me relaxed?
In all the envisaged versions of my retired life, they centered on the same theme ‒ having full ownership of my time and dime to help others realise their full potential, travel, and write. This is what variety, excitement, freedom, enjoyment, and relaxation mean to me.
Second Need: Prepare
The retired life you’ve defined will remain a castle in the air if you don’t know what you need to make it a reality. As I mentioned earlier, yes, money is necessary, but it is not the only requirement to transition smoothly into retirement. Here are some questions to think about in relation to your retirement life choice:
What state of health must I be in?
What financial position must I be in?
What network of relationships must I be in?
What tools must I be equipped with?
When you have answers to these questions, outline what you will need to get done with the focus on realising this life in retirement. Ask yourself:
What do I need to do now to give my health a fighting chance to endure the retired lifestyle of my choice?
What must I do with my money? Not should, must.
Who do I need to surround myself with?
What do I need to learn?
When do I need to do all of these?
For example, if your choice of retirement life is anything like mine, where it demands me to be mentally, emotionally, and physically fit in order to support others, travel, and write, you will need to ensure that your mental, emotional and physical health is in great shape, as part of your retirement preparation and sustenance plan. My previous article – 10 Practices for a Healthy Well-being – shares how I make this possible.
Third Need: Implement
Now that you know what you want your retirement life to look like and what you need to do to achieve and sustain it, you need to put together a realistic plan that you can hold yourself accountable for so that your vision becomes a reality.
What do you need to do today to bring you a step closer to your envisioned retirement life? In fact, even when you’re in retirement, I encourage you to continue to ask yourself these questions.
Health – Daily ask yourself: What is the one thing I can do today to eat better, sleep better, feel better or think differently? Do this on the basis that the healthier you are, the more you can do. Hence, the quicker you will achieve your goals. Find out how your health affects the abundance of your finances, the richness of your relationships and the growth of your experiences in my previous article – The Return On Investment (ROI) Of Good Health.
Wealth – Annually ask yourself: How much will I need to achieve my goals this year? Do this in the context of your retirement life vision and this will enable you to plan for the time and money you will have to earn, save, invest and prioritise to spend, as well as put aside for anything unexpected. Some scenarios you may anticipate: being bold to ask for the raise that you know you deserve, taking on the challenge of a new career opportunity, or only spending your time and money on the things and people that truly matter.
Relationships – Monthly, ask yourself: Whose life can I share mine with? What can I do to establish or strengthen the connection? Don’t be surprised to discover your network expanding and gravitating in the direction of the retirement life that you seek. Birds of the same feather flock together after all.
Experiences – Weekly, ask yourself: What is something new I want or need to know about? Learning is a never-ending journey. If you subscribe to this philosophy, you will find yourself to be more adaptable and courageous in the face of change. Over time, as you master this skill to be a continuous learner, you will notice your ability to induce change and be at the helm of it.
In conclusion, with your retirement life goal as your North Star, you’ll be able to discern what your priorities are to make the right decisions for yourself ‒ from the lifestyle to live, the career path to take, the activities to get involved in and the people to embrace ‒ because you will know that each experience will be an opportunity for you to gain personal growth, improve your financial circumstance and foster meaningful relationships that will prepare you for the retired life that you’ve envisioned to live.
If you found this article insightful, I would love to hear what resonated with you. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or schedule a FREE call with me to share your thoughts.
For more info on the work that I do, please visit my website!
Adele Chee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Adele is a transition coach and mentor. Committed to seeing a world filled with thriving individuals living their lives authentically, she is on a mission to empower 1 million people to recognize their true worth and set goals that would truly enrich their lives as well as those around them. For this reason, she has created the S.P.A.R.K.© self-alignment model and program to help professionals and entrepreneurs around the world leverage their strengths and overcome their fears to transition into having a purpose-driven life.
She believes that having clarity and alignment of one’s values, strengths, vision, and purpose, “core elements” oneself is essential in enabling a person to take ownership and be the agent of their own life. This is because when you are certain of who you are and what you want, and they are in alignment, you will live your life authentically as you achieve ambitions that fulfill you.
Her idea of a fulfilling life is to live a life of choice where you can achieve your dreams without succumbing to the pressures of society. Her determination and resilience to experience this life aspiration see her realize her 3 life goals travel the globe, help others lead a better life, and write, alongside her successful 15-year international corporate career prior to starting her own coaching practice during a global pandemic.
