Designing
Your Life in Retirement:
A Guide to Planning Your Future
from
Design
The Designing Your Life in Retirement workshop is divided into six learning modules: CHANGE, BALANCE, POTENTIAL, MEANING, WEALTH, and PURPOSE.
Purpose
We
often think of retirement planning only in terms of
the financial factors that will provide economic security. However, a successful and fulfilling
retirement experience requires planning
and preparation in all areas of life. Money can
act as a tool for achieving goals in other areas of life, but financial
security alone cannot bring about happiness, good health, meaningful
relationships, meaningful activities, life satisfaction, or a sense of
purpose.
The
workshop materials present the view that retirement is a significant life stage
that offers the potential for
both risk and reward,
and planning is regarded as an essential tool to preparing for both the challenges and opportunities inherent in the retirement
experience. The goal of this seminar is to
help individuals to identify
retirement lifestyle goals that will guide the retirement planning process and provide a
framework for making financial decisions.
Content
Each
module contains sections of informative and inspirational narrative as well as
educational tools, questionnaires, lists of resources, review of key concepts,
and reflective thinking exercises. The
material easily facilitates
personal application and group
interaction. The following is an overview of selected key
concepts in each learning module:
Change
In many ways, the elements of the new retirement
offer exciting options and the freedom to choose an unconventional path to a
successful and satisfying retirement experience.
Change is the only constant in our lives. How we respond to change will have a profound
effect on the decisions we make, the opportunities we seek, and the quality of
life we experience.
It is
not uncommon for individuals to experience ambivalent feelings towards retirement
because of the many significant changes that they anticipate.
Balance
Our livesboth before and after retirementare
multifaceted. Therefore, we must
consider how the transition to retirement will effect
each of the Nine Facets of Life.
Quality of life means different things to different
peopleeach persons definition is unique.
But the important thing to realize is that your life is multifaceted and
each facet contributes to the quality of life you experience. To balance ones life is to bring all Nine
Facets of Life into a state of equilibrium or stability.
Retirement should not be viewed as a single event in
life, but rather as one of many transitions in a continuum of life experiences.
It is important to seek growth and development in
all areas of life throughout adulthood.
Those who do will be more likely find retirement a rich and rewarding
experience.
Potential
Consider retirement as a time to explore your
potential.
Your skills, interests, values, and preferences are
your assetsa unique set of characteristics that define who you are as an
individual and influences the life choices you make. These assets are what you take with you into
retirement to make it a successful and satisfying chapter in your life.
Taking time to clarify your priorities is a great
investment.
Combining the information of who I am with what I
want will help you to form your unique definition of quality of life in
retirement.
Meaning
Retirement preparation should be life long
pursuit. Be proactive in developing your
own opportunities. Your choices in
meaningful (full of meaning) learning, work, and leisure activities are what
will make life in retirement satisfying and fulfilling.
In retirement, most of us will have more
freedom than ever before regarding how we choose to spend our time. Anticipating the challenges and opportunities
of free time is both exciting and frightening.
Keeping busy is a fine idea for
retirementprovided you are doing what YOU want to do and your activities are
meaningful and fulfilling. Dont trade a
life of challenge and opportunity for busy work.
It is most important that you identify learning,
work, and leisure activities that are meaningful to you; and, explore ways to
invest your time and energy equitably among these activities.
Wealth
To prosper in retirement will not only require that
you take responsibility for your financial security, but also to take
responsibility for your happiness and psyche rewards.
True prosperity will be realized when you direct
your time, energy, and money toward reaching the goals that are meaningful to
you.
Money cant buy happiness; however, what money can
buy is optionsmore alternatives to choose from as you design the life
you want to livenow and in the future.
You dont need to be a financial expert, but you do
need to have a foundation for making wise financial decisions and for working
effectively and confidently with financial service providers. To steady your course, learn and practice the
Nine Basic Principles of Investing.
Purpose
Planning is a very powerful tool. It is a key factor in making decisions on
purpose and achieving what you want in life.
The more clear your vision of retirement becomes,
the more it will motivate your behavior.
That is because you will naturally move toward that which you think
about.
Goals give life direction. However, the goals themselves have little
value unless they bring depth and meaning to your life as you work to achieve
them.
When a person sets goals that are very meaningful,
he or she experiences a sense of mission.
Having a sense of mission in retirement adds an essence and a special
quality to life, the value of which is beyond measure.
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