Panic attacks used to be reserved for dads-to-be at the OBGYN, or prima donnas when they made their debut on stage. As they watched their 1,000-foot drop or the first time their dad proposed, sudden sweat outbursts were common among diving Olympians. As you drove back from work on Friday, you felt sinking stomach sensations as the sirens and blue flashes of terror sounded.
Now you’re certain of this. Your long-awaited retirement party arrives on Wednesday afternoon. This is the day you will remember most. You wake up on Thursday to a delicious late breakfast, then you can enjoy a 2-martini lunch with senior citizens and one of the 4PM discounted senior citizen dinners. Without a second thought, you channel surf to late-night talk shows without thinking about your 6AM alarm.
To your dismay and delight, however, Monday comes around and suddenly you are already feeling panic attacks, nausea, and sinking stomach. Is this what’s happening? It’s been a while since then. “retirement day”And it isn’t happening. “it” is! You feel increasingly lost, redundant, unimportant, inconsequential and irrelevant now that the honeymoon is over. It seems like you have lost your equilibrium. Your equilibrium is in decline. You seem less assertive even in your voice!
Do not think for one second that you are the only person in this world. There are thousands of coworkers (in reality, there are over). Daily 10,000Your comrades (and their anxiety) will soon be feeling the effects of your retirement. Let’s take a look at their and your sources of anxiety.
First of all, regardless of whether or not you realized it, your professional identity has been tied inextricably to your job and your career. More than your family, your job defined your personality, brought meaning to your life and gave you some power and status. You could never have imagined the emotional jolt that resulted from your decision to either retire or be forced to give up this role.
Second, even if you’re not independently wealthy, suddenly you realize what was a very lucrative, reliable, bi-weekly automatic-deposited paycheck check is gone. In many cases, the tap was tapped and replaced by a smaller monthly retirement subsidy. You are currently too panicked to take a step back and evaluate other income streams, such as your 401K or social security benefits.
There’s also the social aspect – daily banter, gossip, and camaraderie that foster lifelong or even temporary friendships. It was not something you expected to find loneliness or a lack thereof as a result of your retirement decision. You are now competing with whom? It never dawned on you until now that you would no longer be included in the office lottery, the late Friday afternoon gathering at the local favorite café or bar, or the Saturday morning golf game.
You can put away the tranquillizers and the breathing aids, as well as the warm and cold towels, or the Tums. There are thousands of your peers, colleagues, and friends who’ve been there, who can help you. There are many resources available that can help you find the successful strategies of others as you transition to what we believe is the most rewarding, productive, enjoyable and fulfilling phase in your life.
There are three keys to success:
- You should take the same amount of time as it took to pick your primary profession to prepare and design your retirement. Consider the different retirement options, as well as how they can be combined.
- Lifestyle of relaxation
- Volunteer life
- Travel is a way of life
- Engaging new work is a way of life
- Living as an an entrepreneur
- Life as a “Creative”
- Student life
- Recognize who you are and what drives you, then give it to others. YouPrecedence in the choice you make Do It is notThe decision was made to continue.
- You still have many years to add value… Your way.