Whooooo Are You? (In Retirement) Who? Who? 5 Steps to Creating Your Retirement Identity

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Aug 28, 2019

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INSIGHT

Retirement Is A New Life Chapter

Retirement is a long, active life stage akin to graduating college and starting a new life chapter.
Roger Whitney frames identity work as multi-step: acknowledge current roles, challenge retirement myths, reconnect, examine, test, choose, and enjoy the process.

ADVICE

Follow A Five Step Identity Process

Do a structured five-step identity process: acknowledge current identity, reconnect via self-examination, examine your past holdings, test new activities, then choose and build habits.
Use tools like the Enneagram, calendar audit, and books (Atomic Habits, Don't Retire Rewire) to guide each step.

ANECDOTE

Closet Of Jeans As A Metaphor For Life Clutter

Roger Whitney uses his wife's closet with many jeans as a metaphor for accumulated activities and obligations over decades.
He urges retirees to examine what to keep and what seasonal items of life to let go.

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Over the past month, we have been exploring an important topic in creating your retirement. We have been discussing you. Retirement is another giant life change that can be compared with ending school or beginning a career. This momentous occasion is a great time to give pause and think about who you really are. If you haven’t listened to the previous episodes in this series, you’ll want to go back and listen to episodes 285, 286, and 287. On this episode, you’ll learn 5 steps for creating your retirement identity.

Steps for creating your identity in retirement

Retirement is a long time. You’re starting an entirely new step in life and walking away from the life you once had. This is a great time to think about who you really are and who you want to become. Here are steps you can take to help you create your new identity

Acknowledge who you currently are. What is your current identity?
Reconnect with who you really are via self-examination. Discover what makes you tick.
Examine the past and all the things you built up. Decide what to keep and what to let go.
Begin to test. Play with new ideas and hobbies to discover which ones are a good fit.
Choose. Lean into a new reality that revolves around your interests.
Enjoy the process. Don’t put pressure on yourself to choose, this isn't a race.

What are you going to be when you grow up?

We are asked from the youngest age, what are you going to be when you grow up? People have been focused on their career for so long that once they come to retirement they don’t really know what to do. If you have focused solely on your career then retirement will really be a challenge. It’s time to start focusing on the right things and becoming more self-aware. Get to know yourself better and find your passions so that you know what you want to do when work isn’t there anymore.

How can we become intentional about finding our passions?

Most people aren’t proactive about discovering themselves. Life moves quickly and work, family, and other things get in the way of discovering who you really are. Think beyond money. What motivates you, what makes you tick? What are your drivers? Do you want to belong, to be valued, to be recognized? Start thinking about how you can lead the life that you really want.

How do you build your tomorrow today?

Once you discover what motivates you then you can start to fulfill yourself. Take some time to sit down and analyze your life. Use today to build your tomorrow. Think about how you want to fill your time. Doing the prework of understanding yourself will lead to a fulfilling retirement where you retire towards something, rather than away.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN HOT TOPIC SEGMENT