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in retirement ; they can not only live longer but they can also delay the onset of health problems like heart disease or Alzheimer ’ s .
One nice thing about the lost and found table is that it lets you reunite with things you thought were gone . We ’ ve all had favorite things to do , heights we ’ ve aspired to , places we ’ ve desired to see and be .
But in the hustle and bustle of work , ferrying kids around , or helping others , pieces of you can end up lost in the shuffle … put on hold … or left behind .
Whether it ’ s an aspiration to play a musical instrument , join a theater , learn a second language , visit a distant country ,
Retirement is the ideal time to return to the lost and found to reacquaint yourself with your desires before they ’ re permanently lost .
age in those relationships . It won ’ t immediately heal . Don ’ t be surprised if somebody puts you on the back burner , too .
9 . Don ’ t put off in retirement what you can do now . You shouldn ’ t use the idea of retirement as an excuse to procrastinate . Yet many people see it as a guidepost : Once it happens , they ’ ll work out more , eat better , spend more time with family , or pick up an old instrument or some other hobby .
They could do all those things before they retire . In fact , it ’ s much easier to continue doing activities ( walking , eating healthy , taking an online class ) than it is to suddenly start them .
But there ’ s a deeper issue : We are creatures of habit , and the act of retirement
will not make us better or different people , and that ’ s part of the problem with making retirement the excuse for not following your dreams now .
10 . The only guarantee . Retirement ’ s only guarantee is that you will die at some point during it . On the surface , that sounds like the perfect conversation to avoid , but instead I want you to flip the script and use it as a motivating factor .
One of the biggest flaws in the way people approach retirement is that they assume once they get there they ’ ll have 20 or 30 years ( or more ) to do whatever they want whenever they want . But nothing could be further from the truth . None of us know how long we have .
That means it ’ s more important than ever to avoid putting off or delaying the support special needs families , or simply finish writing that book of poetry , retirement is the ideal time to return to the lost and found to reacquaint yourself with your desires before they ’ re permanently lost .
8 . Life on the back burner . Many people see retirement as the ideal time to make up for the sacrifices they made to get there . They intend to spend more time with family , to reconnect with friends and get healthy again . But there can be an ugly catch to this approach .
Just because you now have time set aside and allocated to family and friends doesn ’ t mean your feelings will be reciprocated . If you ’ ve been overcommitted to your career , you ’ ve likely made sacrifices in relationships , putting people on the back burner , and it ’ s likely caused some collateral damthings that are most important to you . It ’ s one reason I suggest people write down the things they don ’ t want to regret or miss not seeing or doing in this final stage of life .
Bronnie Ware is the author of the book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying , which is about her time spent caring for people with terminal illnesses .
According to Ware , patients most commonly uttered these regrets :
“ I wish I ’ d had the courage to live a life true to myself , not the life others expected of me .” “ I wish I hadn ’ t worked so hard .” “ I wish I ’ d had the courage to express my feelings .” “ I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends .” “ I wish that I had let myself be happier .” Consider these things when you are pondering retirement ’ s only guarantee — and perhaps create your own “ no regrets retirement plan ,” one that would have a positive impact on you and those around you for years to come .
Overall , I hope this list helps you see that there is no single , best way to plan for and live out your retirement . Simply handing everyone the same playbook or script won ’ t work . We need to acknowledge both the unique factors and key differences in how people think , feel and act .
This way you ’ ll be able to help your clients apply what we know about retirement to their particular personality , preferences and beliefs .
Please understand , retirement isn ’ t changing . It already has . The train has left the station , so it ’ s more important than ever to get off autopilot and replace all the old and outdated information with a new , more personal narrative .
Retirement doesn ’ t have to look or feel like a half-baked jailbreak . It can be one of life ’ s greatest adventures where you get to decide and direct what you want it to be like .
ROBERT LAURA is president of Wealth & Wellness Group and founder of RetirementProject . org . He is a seven-time best-selling author and founder of the Retirement Coaches Association . He can be reached at rl . robertlaura @ gmail . com . The book Retirement Intelligence can be purchased on Amazon .
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