Retirement Coaching
“The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.”
Abe Lemons
You worked so hard to earn all this free time. To finally call all the shots and answer to only yourself.
You have begun to ride the Retirement Roller Coaster……It’s exciting…. Or is it confusing? And it’s also boring sometimes.
But now that you’re retiring, you’re not exactly sure what to do with this newfound freedom. Maybe you were with more successful with a bit of structure in your life. Regardless, you’re ready to dive head first into this new stage of life, carve out meaning for yourself, and embrace your later years.
When you first imagined wrapping up your working years you couldn’t wait to chase the dreams you’d been putting off for decades. You pictured finally taking that art class, traveling the world, and reconnecting with your children and grandchildren.
You spent hours planning trips, looking for design inspiration, and budgeting your time and your dollars for all of your goals. You felt completely ready to say goodbye to your boss and not have to set an alarm clock. And when the day came for you to notify your employer, your heart swelled. You’d been ready for this for a long time and you’d earned the opportunity to fully embrace life for the first time.
But here you are, just a few short months after retiring and you’re struggling.
Every day feels a little less hopeful. Your money doesn’t stretch as far as you thought it would, you’re wasting time on frivolous things, and you hardly see your friends and family. It seems like everything you envisioned about retirement is a lie.
Retirement Is A Major Life Transition.
That’s not to say you thought leaving the workforce would be easy. Retirement is a huge life change and can lead to a lot of uncertainty. You never wanted a boring life. In fact, you want the opposite. You know there will be days that are more difficult than others. However, you’ve put in your time. You are ready to move forward, but you are not clear about where you want to go.
What you didn’t expect was how stressful retirement would be. You never predicted how many financial constraints you’d have to deal with. You had no idea how difficult it would be to find a part-time job or volunteer opportunities. And you certainly didn’t expect to feel lost and lonely.
So Here You Are.:
Bored, uninspired, and isolated.
Retirement is a series of transitions and it’s hard to know what to do when the honeymoon phase wears off.
You realized it the other day…
You woke up rolled over and looked at the clock. You still couldn’t get used to sleeping passed 8:00. What used to be an exciting idea – having nothing planned for the day – had turned daunting and you wished you knew what you’d be doing in an hour. You felt like picking up the phone to call your kids, but you didn’t want to bother them for the third time this week.
Immediately you felt sad and lonely.
In that moment you knew in your gut it was time to take control of this new phase of life. You knew you couldn’t keep going on this path or you would start to feel more down and dull. But you realized you didn’t have any idea how to go about improving your experience. Instead you sat there doubting your ability to have a meaningful and purposeful life.
You Told Yourself:
“I can’t believe I’ve let go of everything in my life that mattered.”
“I’ve given up so much of myself over the years, I should be able to have a piece of life that’s just for me.”
“I believed I was prepared to start a new phase, but clearly I’m not as ready as I thought
“I’m useless since I can’t seem to identify or make progress toward my goals.”
But when you thought about it, in a less blue moment, you realized:
“I just need some help figuring out how to navigate this new life.” Where is my Rudder? I just seem to be floating on a raft going nowhere.
You’ve made every effort you can think of to thrive in retirement, but when you’re honest with yourself…
You’re burdened by the lack of structure in your new life.
It doesn’t matter how prepared you thought you were, you did not expect to flounder when the time came to finally be in charge. You truly thought you’d sail through retirement, but you’re sure now that you need some help putting measurable, achievable goals into place.
It’s hard to admit that you’re struggling to keep yourself accountable to your dreams. But all the freedom and flexibility is not all it’s cracked up to be and you need to learn some self-discipline.
Reality is, a lot of retirees have trouble moving into this phase of life. It doesn’t mean you don’t have drive or a purpose. You are not the only older adult to feel trapped or to be limited by your fixed income. I see this every day when I coach seniors to thrive during retirement. You simply need to learn how to identify and align your purpose, passion, and values Who am I NOW?
You’re ready to enjoy the fruits of all your labor. You’re ready for help defining what life can look like after retirement.
When You Seek Retirement Coaching with Coaching Aging Adults
You will explore and define your life passions as an older adult
You will gain clarity about your life values to help guide your personal choices
You will have the confidence that comes from defining and refining the dreams you have for this phase in your later life
You will find direction, purpose, accountability for achieving personal goals in the all areas, including your health and relationships
You will feel relief knowing you can find flexible help that matches your flexible schedule
The Retirement Coaching Process
Retirement Coaching is intended to help you find the support you need to thrive with a less structured lifestyle. Together, we will examine your personal values and how they impact your daily decisions. We will also work to define what you’d like to accomplish during retirement, so you can look back and feel like the years were truly meaningful.
We’ll meet together weekly for sessions. Or we can meet online for a Retirement Group. Retirement Coaching typically lasts 3-6 months and can be done locally in the Denver area or online nationally or internationally.
Here’s what to expect:
Who Benefits Most from Retirement Coaching?
Retirement Coaching is best for those who are wanting to outline a concrete plan for their latest phase. Retirement Coaching helps older adults emotionally adjust to retirement so that they can feel more optimistic, more connected, and more positive about their present & future.
You will benefit from Retirement Coaching sessions if:
- You are 50+
- You are wanting to focus on your present and future rather than the past
- You are needing help anticipating the changes you will face emotionally as you begin to figure out how you want to spend your time in the future.
- You need help identifying your Life Goals and Passions.
- You are looking for clarification around your value system and personal choices
- You want to feel like the work you’ve done in your life has laid a solid foundation for you going forward
There are certain situations where you might not be ready for coaching. These situations include, but are not limited to:
- An untreated mental health concern
If you’re currently experiencing any mental health issues, it is my recommendation that you seek individual counseling first.
You can learn more about that here.
However, Counseling or Psychotherapy are limited to Colorado clients.
What Does Retirement Coaching Cost?
Each individual session costs $200 and clients typically engage in 3 sessions each month.
Your Next Steps
Retirement doesn’t always mean no paid work. It may be the beginning of a new career or business.There are so many possibilities…..
Right now, successful retirement may feel far off, but that does not mean you can’t find the clarity to feel capable and competent as an aging adult.