THE THREE QUESTIONS OF RETIREMENT LIFE

Arlene's Musings

Welcome Bloggers. Now that our book has been released, we are ready to focus on our Blog. We are delighted to have you join us and contribute to our Blog Conversation about your experiences transitioning to retirement or creating an encore career. We trust that you will find our Blog useful and fun.


My personal contribution to out Blog will be two-fold. First, I am an active retiree (semi-retired) and have experienced and am currently experiencing the actual event in "real-time" and am familiar with the psychological and emotional issues and concerns of those of you who are transitioning to retirement or have recently retired. Second, as a certified retirement coach and career/professional coach, for those of you who want to create encore careers or part-time employment, I will enthusiastically share my knowledge of career transition concepts.  For those of you who are transitioning to retirement, I hope our book and our blog will assist you in making a successful transition to a retirement life filled with meaning and purpose.


START ANY SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION BY ANSWERING THE THREE QUESTIONS OF LIFE


Retiring or creating an encore career should be viewed by you as the next career development stage or the next chapter of your life. Therefore, transitioning to this next stage should follow the same concepts first introduced by early Career Development Gurus who emphasized the importance of knowing and answering three basic questions before making a career decision. I was first introduced to these questions when I was going through a traumatic divorce thirty years ago and my counselor pushed me into a Career Development Workshop at the University of Utah to find as new direction. Little did I know that attending this workshop would have a lasting impact on my subsequent life...First, I noticed that everyone in the workshop was in crisis. I learned that the average person spent more time deciding what type of car to purchase than deciding on their first career choice. I was lucid enough to realize that a time of crisis is not the best time to make important decisions like this. Second, the workshop helped me to discover a future personal path and also was my introduction to the field of Career Development and the importance o f purposeful planning (hopefully when you are not in crisis).
Although these questions were originally introduced as Career Development questions, I soon discovered that they were valuable LIFE questions and could and should be used before any type of decision making and transitioning. I have consistently used them in my own life and in coaching others. Now, that I am retired, I have adapted the questions to RETIREMENT LIFE.  The Three Questions of Retirement Life are introduced in YOUR PERSONAL SURVIVAL TOOLKIT in our book. Here are the Questions for you to begin to ponder:
1. WHO AM I NOW?
2. WHAT DO I WANT?
3. HOW DO I GET THERE?
Only after you do some self-assessment and introspection can you be ready to move forward to discover your unique path to a successful, meaningful and exciting future. Check future postings for more ideas.
WELCOME TO THE DISCUSSION!
Arlene