While building my new website, www.RetirementRhythm.com.au I wanted an appropriate imaget o portray retirees ‘living their dream.” Simple enough I thought, just type “active retirees” into Google search and wait for the perfect jpeg to land on my screen.

The results poured in, depicting white-haired senior citizens walking along beaches, playing cards, doing old-time dancing, fishing, carrying grandkids on their shoulders, golfing, caravanning, doing Tai Chi, sipping coffee with friends, reading, writing, repairing cars, trekking, swimming, surfing, dining out, cooking, brewing. Stop it! There is no one-picture-fits-all for retirees.

I laughed out loud at my naivety. I know every retiree has their own dreams and lives within their own means. That’s why I started the “coaching” business - to help retirees find their own rhythm in retirement and just be happy, on their terms.

Now, that sounds simple too, but it can be really difficult to unravel the conventions that have shaped us for so many decades and transition into an unfamiliar environment of apparent freedom. Many people have no trouble adjusting to their new found and long awaited independence. With careful planning and reasonable expectations retirement is a totally natural evolution.

However, even the meticulous, pragmatic retirement designers can sometimes feel they are missing something.

I could fill several paragraphs with an uncomprehensive list of possible issues, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest their plans and resources are sound, they just haven’t worked out HOW it’s all going to work.

I base my revolutionary paradigm on a decade of experience conversing with baby boomers who have retired or are precariously close to retiring.

My favourite quote is from a very well respected retired school teacher who confided, “I thought all you did was retire and start having fun?” His wide-eyed confidence turned to a frown by the time he heard what he had said. He followed this up with, “I should get a part-time job to finance my new hobbies…but I don’t have time.”

I don’t know if I can help this gentleman but if you ever think, “I don’t know what day it is anymore.”

or “I’m not sure what I’m working towards now.”

or “People used to ask what I did. Now I’m just retired.”

or “I used to have a list of unfinished projects, now I haven’t got any started.”

or “My world feels smaller.”,

maybe you just haven’t quite worked out how to fit all the pieces together.

Rule number 1 – Don’t panic. It’s your life to live how you believe you should. The only expectations that are important in your retirement are your own. The only perceptions that influence your decisions are your own. How you live up to your own expectations and have an enjoyable, purposeful respectable retirement is up to you.

Sometimes it’s useful to share your aspirations and fears with someone who can help you lay them out honestly on a neutral surface, without judgement or favour. Friends and family aren’t always comfortable giving advice, and not many Baby Boomers appreciate being told what to do anyway. It’s just not our thing.  

You’re welcome to join our free monthly virtual coffee meetings to share or just listen to perspectives you may not have considered. If you want to get serious about finding the rhythm that works for you, we run regular workshops and individual sessions.

‍