We all have heard that we are experiencing the largest transition of employees out of the workforce.  Businesses are experiencing leadership shortages as baby boomers move into retirement and they struggle to replace the experience and corporate knowledge lost through this transition.  In the 60’s and 70’s there were six Canadians under the age of 20 for every person over the age of 65.  Today there are approximately three young Canadians for every elder and this gap is getting smaller.

​And yet, we still cling to the recent tradition of retirement!

Are you trying to figure out your retirement?  What are the questions you’re think of?  Many people think it’s about finance – do I have enough money to retire?  I ask, What does retirement look like to you?

If you have a good financial person, they will ask questions around what it is that you want to do in retirement, ask questions about your health and well-being – you can’t sail around the world if you have to visit the doctor monthly or on a variety of medications that need to be monitored.  However, that doesn’t mean you can never do it – it really means what are you doing about your health today, that will allow you to carry out the dreams you have for retirement.  It may mean taking control of your health and working with health professionals to see how and what you can do to get you off those medications and into a lifestyle and exercise plan that meet your goal of sailing somewhere!

What about friendships?  Many of us find the majority of our friendships come through work, how do you plan to keep those friendships going?  Look at yourself as an example, how many friends have you had who you no longer keep in touch with now that they are retired?  This doesn’t mean that all the friends you have within your professional circle will no longer stay in touch once you retire, but it does beg the question: What are you doing to develop friendships outside work?

Thinking about retirement can bring joy or fear, maybe both.  We don’t have the structures that are there for us in our first and second Acts, we sort of left to figure it out for ourselves.  And yet, for many of us used to structure, where to start?  It’s about taking a holistic approach, breaking it down into four categories – physical, mental/emotional, spiritual and financial.  Because if you don’t know what you want to do in your retirement, how will you know what you need financially!

We run a program called the Third Act, it explores all the questions above and more.  Remember you only have one life to live, and Remember, life is for living. You only have this one life to live.  Live it to the fullest, laugh each day, try to hug at least one person, be grateful for what you have and support others who are struggling.  And, in the meantime if you are struggling to come to grips with your Third Act, send us an email and we can talk!

I am a believer in the value of preparing for the next phase of life, and deciding how you want to live.  I would love to talk with you about the benefits of defining how you can transition successfully and the changes you want to make to ensure a healthy, happy third act.  Please schedule a free 30 minute dream consultation to see how I might be able to assist you!.