Retirement Life Coach - number 2

Retirement Life Coach - number 2

I have been thinking I could be a good retirement life coach - (see last week's blogs) and I want to do additional analysis.

Life Coaches / counselors / mentors look at five (or six) things. Spiritual, mental, financial, social, physical, and family.  

As a person or couple approaches retirement, they need to examine their goals, and themselves.  What is important to them?  

• Spiritual aspects of their lives
  I tend to look at things through a “Judeo-Christian” viewpoint - but, be it “God” or “The Force” or some other spiritual approach, what are you living for?  Where is the “value” in your life?  I tend not to ‘preach’ - but to love (and share God’s love).  And, as a senior, I am closer to death - what might I need to think about with death around the corner.  As somebody said “Now that I am older, I think about the “here-after” a lot.  As I want into a room, I have to ask myself “What am I “here after”!!  (humor friends!!)
  
  

• Mental. 
  How is our mental health?  Are our brains active?  Can we still think? But, also, are we challenging ourselves?  Are we “stretching” our brains?  Are we thinking “outside the box”?  Are we expanding our comfort zone - or shrinking it? This also can be done with some games and puzzles.  I’m playing chess and bridge - I do a variety of logic and spatial puzzles to keep “mentally sharp”.  This really does apply to our retirement years.  As my brother-in-law says “I’m retired, I don’t need to think!!!  People do get depressed - and I think more so these days with COVID-19 - and we need to work on mental health.
  
  

• Financial.  

• This is also a “biggie” area for seniors.  I think of this as a ‘race’ - will I run out of money before I run out of life?  How much money will I need for retirement?  Some spend more than others, some start to hoard and become miserly and cheap.  Do I set money aside if I end up in a nursing home?  “You can’t take it with you!!”  If you have excess funds, how might you share with others?  Do you have favorite charities?  (Aside, I hope to have funds that I can leave to my children and grandchildren but also finance scholarships for deserving students). How much insurance do I need to carry?  Finances can also be an issue with families - inheritance, wills, people who prey on seniors with scams and fears. 
  
  While all these areas are separate, they also overlap.  Leaving a will for your descendants is financial, but also related to family, social, physical, and health.  Have you given a “power of attorney” to an appropriate person? 
  
  

• Social -
  Do I get out and socialize?  Do I have friends?  In this time of isolation, do I call people, and do people call me?  Do I do some online chats or other communication?  I am doing two online Bible Studies where I can see and interact with people.  Again an area of our senior lives that needs to be encouraged - isolation is so negative on us as social beings!!
  
  Fortunately (mostly anyway), we have such great tools to keep in touch with old friends.  I email some people I rarely see frequently.  I see Facebook pages of old friends, former students, and others from the past years.  Yes, you need to be cautious with some social media (I sense I have people who have ‘friended’ me on Twitter that are potential scammers.
  
  

• Physical -
  Yes, the truth is “I am dying” - we all are dying!!  It might be today, and it might be 30 years from today.  I need to take care of my body.  I walk a lot.  I am fortunate that I live in a community with a great recreation center - where I can walk in air conditioning.  I also try to do stretches and try to lift some weights.  Another area of being physical is in the kitchen - how do I eat?  What nutrition am I getting? Am I sitting too much in front of my television?  Or sitting too much by my computer?

• Family

• This could be part of the social area, but I think family is more important than just one aspect of socialization.  If you have become estranged with family over the year, this is a good time to work on reconciliation.  There is a scripture “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger”.  While that is for today - don’t go to be bed angry, that is also for death.  Be reconciled before you die.  That also goes both ways.  I have two friends whose father abused them.  Yes, the father was wrong, but don’t carry that hatred in your heart.  Find him, forgive him.  For him, it might be a releasing of an old terrible mistake (and, we all have made our mistakes) and for them, it was a ‘wonderful’ releasing of love which conquers hate.  I Peter 4:8 says “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

Let’s think about death for a few seconds.  Yes, someday we all will die.  On our deathbed, nobody says “I wish I would have spent more time at the office”, no, most people say things like “I wish I would have spent more time with my family”.  

Retirement is “post-prime time”.  You have left the rat race.  This time is for you.  Relax, but also grow as a human being.  Volunteer, share your ideas.  Help others.  Find things that you enjoy.

Tomorrow (and I think the rest of this week, I am going to “practice” being a Retirement Life Coach with scenarios and discussions.  Hopefully, the concepts will cause you to think of your current or upcoming retirement.  The big question - what is important to you in the areas above? 

Hugs!!!

Karen