Retirement Wisdom Managing Partner Joe Casey is quoted:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/10/working-in-retirement-can-pay-off-big.html
Why Settle for Happiness?
By Joe Casey
The pursuit of happiness. It’s high on the list in retirement. Everyone wants a happy retirement.
It’s one of the three “unalienable rights” highlighted in the Declaration of Independence. Happiness has also become an industry. Odds are that you’ve read a least one, and probably more, of the countless books or articles published on happiness in recent years.
And it seems that it may be harder to achieve these days – at least around these parts. Among countries, Canada ranks 9th and the U.S. slipped from third to 19th in the 2017 World Happiness Report.
But if you’re “chronologically advanced”, as I heard the comedian Sarah Jones describe it last week, there’s good news.
Unlike a number of things, happiness tends to increase in later life. Several studies (including Blanchflower, D. G., & Oswald, A. J. (2008)) suggest that happiness follows a U-shaped curve, dipping in mid-life and then tending to climb in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
Don't Settle for Happiness. Aim Higher. Cultivate Purpose and Meaning. Share on XIs That All There Is?
We can all agree that happiness is a good thing. And it’s great to know that it tends to increase in later years. But perhaps there’s a higher level of living to aspire to. A new study by the Stanford Graduate School of Education and Encore.org (Purpose in the Encore Years: Shaping Lives of Meaning and Contribution) found that (only) about 3 in 10 of surveyed adults, 50 and older, expressed that they have “purpose beyond the self”. Purpose was defined as engaging in activities that had meaning to them personally and contributed to the well-being of others.
Often, this is of great interest to many people. But it’s natural to wonder what it really entails and what you’d need to give up. Does purpose involve a high level of sacrifice and total commitment? A key finding of this study is that pursuing purpose is”not a zero-sum game”. People who reported a purpose beyond themselves were found to have a higher level of engagement in other self-oriented activities, indicating that purposeful activities are a matter of “and” rather than “either/or.” Perhaps the most notable finding is that those with “purpose beyond the self” reported higher levels of joy, satisfaction, and optimism. (I’ve never heard anyone complain about having too much of those).
More Joy, Satisfaction, and Optimism? Sign Me Up. Pursue Purpose and Meaning. Share on XHow to Build Purpose and Meaning
How do I find my purpose and strive for greater meaning? Our guest on this week’s episode of The Retirement Conversation podcast, Emily Esfahani Smith, makes a compelling case for cultivating meaning over pursuing happiness. The author of The Power of Meaning, she notes that happiness can be fleeting, while meaning can lead to longer-lasting fulfillment. Emily dispels the perception of pursuing purpose and meaning as lofty and offers practical advice and examples of how it can be nurtured in small ways in daily life. Emily provides insights from positive psychology research, the wisdom of ancient philosophers, and her own experiences that will be useful to anyone who is interested in developing more purpose and meaning in their lives.
You can listen to our conversation with Emily Esfahani Smith here.
Who Will You Be in Your Retirement?
By Joe Casey
What does your life after retirement look like when you imagine it?
“When you are 20, you care about what people think about you,
when you are 40 you stop caring about what people think about you,
and when you are 60, you realize nobody cared in the first place.”
– Winston Churchill
Have you ever asked someone “How was your weekend?” – and regret it when, five minutes later, they’re still breaking down Saturday morning blow by blow? Let’s face it. You were really expecting “Fine” or “Wonderful” or “Awesome” – or even “Not bad. How was yours?” Any answer would do. And you’d both pleasantly move on with your days. Well, it turns out that that same dynamic may be at play with a weighty question that’s quite important in transitioning to retirement.“So, what are you going to when you retire?” Having a clear retirement vision helps guide your planning and decision-making. But while it is important to you, perhaps any answer will do for others.
What Are You Going to Do in Retirement?
When you’re faced with this question, watch where your eyes go. They will instantly tell you where you are in the process of transitioning to retirement. If they look upward, you’re probably in the exploration phase. You will likely launch into an exciting and rambling answer roaming the landscape of the possibilities you’re pondering. If the person who asked the question is still awake (or even still there…), be prepared to hear “Oh, that’s interesting.”
If your eyes go directly to your shoes, you probably haven’t taken the time to give it the proper thought yet. You may grab some answers from the shelf of classic retirement cliches and mumble something about every day being Saturday, catching up on things you’ve meant to do around the house, golf, or traveling. Be prepared for “That’s nice”.
It’s just like the question How was your weekend?
Any concise answer will do just fine.
What’s Your Elevator Speech?
Our latest podcast guest, Dr. David Ekerdt, University of Kansas Professor and President of The Gerontological Society of America, thinks there’s a better way. He has studied transitions to retirement for several decades and he recommends that we develop an Elevator Speech for retirement – just as you would in starting a new business.
If you’ve ever developed an elevator speech, you’ll know that it is short and clear, by design. A lot of thought and refinement goes into it.
It forces clarity.
Who Will You Be?
Ekerdt reframes the question What Are You Going to Do Now? to a more meaningful one – Who Will You Be?
He suggests that answers to the first question can come from expectations created by cultural norms and commercial marketers. Answers to the second one require more reflection and tend to come from values. He notes that one of the cultural beliefs that shape our views on retirement is that a busy retirement is best. But a busy retirement is not for everyone. Ekerdt advises focusing on what’s most important to you. And to do those things at your own pace.
Many of our choices earlier in life are influenced by the expectations of others, perhaps more than we even realize. The retirement phase of life is about freedom. When you earn the freedom to retire, how will you structure your day in retirement? It gives you a chance to live in alignment with your true values, to do more of what you want to. Churchill suggests it’s a time we can move away from the expectations of other people. Hear our conversation with David Ekerdt, where he shares his wisdom on retirement.
What’s On Your Retirement Mind?
by Denis Wuestman
This year we started a series of seminars on the non-financial aspects of retirement with groups of people preparing for this transition as well as those in their early years of retirement.
Since everyone’s experience is different, it was insightful to see how people felt about this new part of their lives, sharing their principles, fears and successes. We asked them what their most important concerns are when thinking about the non-financial aspects of a retirement transition.
Retirement Concerns
Here are the Top 5 with some tips on how to deal with them:
- Fear of Loneliness. This was a concern especially among those who may have lost a spouse or in cases where one’s immediate family may live far away. Very often it occurs once one leaves their job as their social connections have changed. To counter this, the importance of community and having strong friendships was important. Continuing to actively pursue relationships with people of all ages, moving to a retirement community, continuing to work or volunteer are all possible counteractions to loneliness.
- Uncertainty about Health. This was not surprising as people age. However, when discussing how to take better care of one’s self, they highlighted the importance of intellectual stimulation, having strong relationships both with family and friends and the importance of becoming more spiritual and/or closer to nature. While there are things about health that are beyond one’s control in some respects – one could opt for a healthy lifestyle and maintain a positive attitude towards life and change.
- What to Do with Time. While many enjoyed the freedom of retirement, they recognized that the concept of time changes. It is no longer defined by a workday. Some will enjoy the freedom of leisure or treating every day as a Saturday, while others felt it was important to find new passions and a reason to get up in the morning. Few expressed being satisfied with having nothing to do with their time. To counter this, having a plan for your newfound free time, discussing with your spouse (if applicable) and saying yes to some things were all important to help explore and discover the right answer for you. HINT: Don’t be reluctant to make changes if the plan is not working out for you.
- An Expectation of Oneself. Conduct an inward reflection of what is most important as that can help form principles on how this next part of life will unfold. While clearly a deeper introspection, the linkage between personal vision, values and mindset surfaced as important elements in the retirement equation. How does one do this? Attending a seminar such as the one this group attended, reading books, talking with others and working with a retirement coach were all areas mentioned where one could gain a deeper awareness of their personal needs to help with this journey.
- Missing Elements About Work. While looking forward to the freedom of not working it was clear that work provided non-financial benefits. First, was the benefit of providing structure and organization in one’s daily life (my personal favorite). Becoming accustomed to a loss of structure took time and a few found it a very difficult adjustment. In addition, having one’s identity wrapped into their work required another adjustment and going cold turkey when it comes to understanding the impact of this identity shift was not recommended. Finally, work was identified as important to socialization, providing purpose, and providing an avenue for continued growth and learning. Options to consider included clearly understanding the areas where there are voids and then exploring how to replace them. For example, if how to structure your day in retirement is important, then experiment with creating different approaches and routines. Try it for a few months and see how it feels, then adjust as needed.
Connections between Concerns
What became evident was how these concerns could be interconnected and addressing one could have an impact on the others. In short:
- Stay connected with friends, family and make efforts to meet new people of all ages.
- Recognize the importance of taking care of one’s body, mind and spirit.
- Plan for how you will spend your TIME and how to structure your day in retirement before you retire.
- Understanding what work provided you. There is a connection to social relationships, overall health in the form of intellectual stimulation, and providing purpose in one’s life. How does one adjust to life without work if they simply haven’t thought about it?
Perhaps most important was understanding what you really expect from yourself in retirement. How do you do this? It starts with getting a good grasp on what’s important to you and what you value most in this part of your life. Understanding your core values can greatly help focus on where to put your life energies in retirement.
Denis can be reached at denisw@retirementwisdom.com
Should I Stay or Should I Go? What’s the Right Move?
By Joe Casey
Is it time for a new career? Can I do it?
It’s inevitable that you will approach a crossroads in your career in mid to later life.
Questions bubble up.
Sometimes from within. Sometimes from others. Or both.
The questions are around your path.
Should I Stay With What I’m Doing?
Or Should I Pursue a Different Direction?
A Chorus Of Voices
It’s an invitation to tune in to that little voice inside that’s easy to mute in the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Practical considerations quickly come to the fore. Stability. Financial security.
And then the ‘What If’s” join the conversation.
Often, it’s the negatrons that jump in first. They tend to be the louder ones.
What if I switch direction and fail?
Are You Tuned In?
But you usually have to concentrate on hearing the quieter voice. But it’s worth it. There’s usually a dream in there.
What if I could do x?
What if I started my own business? The one I’ve always thought about.
Are You Tuned In to Your Inner Voice? It can lead to a great Encore Career... https://www.retirementwisdom.com/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-podcast/ Share on XThe practical considerations are real and important. There are challenges and risks that have to be weighed and considered.
So what’s the right answer?
Staying the Course
I encountered two examples this week that answered the same question differently.
First up is Pete Carroll, coach of the Seattle Seahawks. In his case, the questions have been swirling. From others.
He is clearly passionate about what he does. His answer is:
“Somebody said, ‘You’re 65, are you thinking of retiring?’
….Who says at 65, you have to retire?
What does that mean? It means nothing to me.
I’m not old enough to retire.”
– The MMQB – Sports Illustrated | June 11, 2018
He loves his job. A key theme in his coaching is to Always Compete. For him, the choice to stay the course seems clear. In spite of
the strident voices around him who suggest otherwise. Maybe that will be the right choice for you. But for others, there can be a
sense that there’s more, something else to pursue, something left to do.
Will You Be Ready to Seize an Opportunity?
Next, meet Melissa Davey. In the midst of a successful career as a senior leader in healthcare, a chance detour led her to move to a new career, a seismic career shift to filmmaking. Melissa joined us on our podcast, The Retirement Wisdom podcast, to discuss her story, her new career, and her documentary feature-film titled Beyond Sixty Project. The story of her film is fascinating, capturing the life experiences of women across the country who are crafting their own stories of “resilience and relevance.”
Like Pete Carroll, she loved her job, too. But a focal point of her story is being open to new experiences that could open up a new
avenue. Perhaps most of all, her story is about listening carefully to that inner voice, having the courage to pursue a dream Second
Act – and then creating and executing the right plan to make it happen.
Will You Have the Courage to Seize the Opportunity for a Great Second Act?https://www.retirementwisdom.com/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-podcast/ Share on XYou can listen to our conversation with Melissa here.
You’ll hear the inspiring story about how she became a filmmaker at 65 and the role of a pivotal encounter with M.Night Shyamalan.
It could help you tune in to your inner voice at just the right time – and it could lead to a new career.
Joe Casey is a former senior HR executive pursuing a Second Act career as a retirement coach.
