Overcoming Common Retirement Fears | From Professional To Retired

Our latest vlog, as a retired couple, offers a realistic and positive perspective on overcoming the most common retirement fears many people have. From personal experiences to practical wisdom, we talk about what so many people get wrong about retirement, and how to get it right!

Transcript

Do you fear retirement?

Do you know somebody who has a fear of retirement?

Is the thought of retiring early or even on schedule something to be afraid of?

In this latest vlog, as a retired couple, we are talking about some 
of the most common retirement fears,

beyond money,

and why your retirement planning
should include this practical wisdom

for your own retirement transformation.

[Intro jingle]
Welcome back to Track Us Down!

Leaving our long earned careers and our professional identity was one of the most difficult parts of retirement.

Today, we want to talk about, and share our practical wisdom, on how you can successfully leave your career and your professional identity and transition into retirement.

A retirement transformation!
Successfully.

So keep watching for five very important steps and tips,

to ensure a smooth move into your own retirement.

So we're not necessarily talking about financially here,

We're talking more about mentally.

We say successfully, because after moving to Madeira, moving to Portugal,

we are embracing our life as retirement travelers and we feel we are thriving in our new retirement lifestyle.

Moving here to Madeira, Portugal, was a significant shift for us,

and it forced us to confront our own fears about retirement

So today we also want to talk about what so many people get wrong.

Yes, retirement is often associated with several common fears,

beyond financial concerns.

Retirement fears can include loss of income, loss of respect, loss of purpose, and loss of a busy schedule that naturally comes with a busy career.

That seems like a lot of loss,

and identifying and addressing these concerns

is one of the most important things to do for a successful transition to retirement -

A retirement transformation!

And just to focus on one fear in particular,

the loss of professional identity
is a common fear among retirees,

especially those of you like us,
who came from leadership positions in our careers.

Many retirees struggle with the transition from

career - professional life, professional identity,

to a new identity as a retiree.

Particularly, they have a hard time defining their new identity.

We retired early at the age of 50 
and moved to this beautiful island - Madeira, Portugal.

Over the last couple of years,
we have successfully shifted from two busy careers - one in education, and one in law enforcement - to retirement.

Or semi-retirement I guess, if you include YouTube.

The term "retirement" actually has
quite a negative connotation.

That's why we prefer to use "Second half of Life"

Much better!

One common misperception, is that retirement
will naturally provide fulfillment.

However, without intentional planning,
that is often not likely the case.

So this is our retirement!

Like us, many of you were in leadership positions,

and were very valued members of your team,
of your workplace, of your community.

We were SOO important, or so we thought!

We were used to having a busy schedule, full days,
and important work to complete.

So in my case, I left a position as a school administrator, where I was responsible for an entire staff,

along with a colleague, as well as an entire school full of children, and their education and their student success,
while raising a family,

and married to this guy.

What's the best part?

And of course, over 27 years of policing -
lots of shift work, lots of long hours,

and with the last 10 years in Homicide,
responsible for very important investigations

and contacts with grieving families -
long hours, not much sleep,

but it was very important work.

Hard to let that go.

So after two busy careers like that,
the daunting part is moving into retirement

and feeling like you don't have purpose,
you don't have anything meaningful to do.

Part of it is losing the identity
that you've had for so long as well as the respect that comes with
being a professional.

Let's face it, it's been part of who we are
for most of our adult lives

As professionals reaching retirement age,
whether that's in your 40s, 50s, or beyond,

maybe you're considering early retirement,

We often go over all the numbers: the retirement plan, the tax situation, the financial aspects

- all the big numbers -
including best and worst case scenarios.

That's so true. People plan for the financial aspect, but what we often don't do is plan for the loss of identity, for moving into something different.

For all of our lives, it's basically how you've introduced yourself.

I'm a doctor, I'm a lawyer, I'm a teacher, I'm a nurse.

It's such a part of you.

And that requires careful planning too, 
in order to successfully transition into retirement.

Part of what you're also losing is the respect that comes with that position when you introduce yourself with that position,

and, the busyness of the day and all the tasks that come with it.

Somehow we think that retirement will take care of itself.

So this brings us to what we see so many people getting wrong in retirement.

They plan the financial aspect, but they are unprepared as professionals to be just themselves without the career identity.

The more as a professional that you hang on to that identity, that you identify that as your primary identity,

the harder it is to move beyond that, into a new identity in retirement.

Another thing is maybe that is the only identity that you have 
for yourself, so you hold that really tight,

and that makes moving into retirement, without that identity, tricky

This is what many professionals get wrong, 
and it makes it so much harder to transition into retirement.

Just one example of that, when I retired, I've carried a badge in my wallet for the last 27 years,

and it became part of my identity,
for those work years

and in retirement,
they gave us what is called a retirement badge.

It looks the exact same,
but instead of having your rank on it,

it has the word "Retired."

Because that's part of your identity, they don't want to take your identity away,

and the idea was that you would carry that around with you 
in retirement.

And I found very quickly within the first year
that it just did not make sense

to keep carrying this big fat wallet with a badge around,

here, living abroad, living internationally in Madeira, 
and I was able to let that identity go,

even though it's been a part of me for 27 years.

It wasn't easy at first, but it is so worth it.

Good job!

And it absolutely shouldn't be hard.

This is what as professionals
we've worked so hard for our entire lives,

is to get to this point to have the freedom

to do what you want to do, where you want to do it, 
when you want to do it, and with whom you want to do it.

So...
Not with whom you want to do it

So it's unfortunate, without having some planning tools, 
that so many people get this wrong

and don't transition into retirement
and find all the joy that should be there.

So now we're going to share five ideas or tools
that you can use right now before you retire 
or are about to retire,

to prepare yourself mentally for that shift,
and to get it right from the start

If you like a good conversation about retirement,

about moving abroad,
living a better second half of life,

please subscribe to our channel
and give this video a thumbs up -

we really appreciate your input.

So the first tip we have is a super easy one. it is taking a look by yourself 
at all the identities that you have for yourself

So you are more than just your professional identity.

I am more than a teacher
or a school administrator.

For example I am also a mother, a wife, a niece,
a daughter, a hiker, a cooker, a baker -

all these things -
there's so many identities that we each have.

What are some of yours?

I was just going to think of
a few more adjectives for you!

And I think of myself the same way -
father, brother, son, husband, adventurer, explorer, exerciser... We get it!

So our quick tip here for you, is to take a moment to sit down, and maybe on your notes app on your phone,

start a list of all the identities that you hold right now.

Of course, the professional identity is part of who you are 
so put that down,

but you are so much more than just your career name or your professional identity

and it's time to really look at all the other
identities that you have.

Make a list, and come back to it later, 
because I guarantee you will think of other things that you are.

Number two: know that you will need to take
charge of this for yourself in your retirement. There is no more online calendar that's scheduled by somebody else,

there's no more secretary to schedule your meetings.

As a professional, letting go of
some of these routines can be tough.

We figured out pretty early on in our retirement transformation that we needed to keep our schedule busy.

We needed routines, we needed activities -
some sort of schedule.

Of course, we got some push back
from some people leaving comments,

saying, "Well in my retirement, I just want the day wide open to do whatever I want, when I want, and have it wide open."

But for us, coming from professional careers,
this just wasn't for us.

It sounded disorganized, and vacant.

That's not to say that we don't allow
for open space in our days and weeks,

far from it.

but we far prefer to be busy every day

and I can tell you,
we are soo busy in retirement.

Our days are full.

And on that note, it leads to our next point -
point number three.

It is well worth reading the book
Atomic Habits, by James Clear.

Now this is a book that we highly recommend, and it is linked in our description down below.

You may be familiar with this book
from your professional career,

it may be one that you have read with your staff
or your team with an eye to productivity

and building habits among staff,

but it's well worth reading again with you personally in mind 
and with an eye to retirement planning.

Number four, this is something that we did that really helps redefine your identity, moving into retirement as a retiree. In Atomic Habits, Clear talks about rather than identifying as the person, the identity, from your profession,

you identify as
"a type of person who does... blank"

For example, rather than identifying as a school administrator, 
I can identify as someone who is organized,

someone who is dependable,
someone who is good at planning.

And for you?

Rather than identifying as a professional investigator or detective, I can identify as somebody who is curious,

who likes to explore, who likes to find facts and information,

somebody that's suspicious of people... maybe?

All true!

So, the point here is, is to not throw
the baby out with the bath water

and not think about all the skills you've gained
as a professional in your career,

because they are who you are.

So rather than defining as the name of your profession,

take those well-honed skills that you have
accumulated throughout a lifetime of work

and become the kind of person who "is,"
rather than the name of the profession.

You are organized, you are reliable, you are responsible -
that kind of thinking.

This is truly life-changing.

When you let go of the identity of the profession from your career, but not all the skills that you gain from your career.

For us, we took those skills and we started a YouTube channel...

...after moving abroad.

We joined a gym and our regulars,
we are involved in causes that we care about,

and we made retirement travel,
and learning, a priority

Point number five, know this: that having freedom
- complete freedom - is the ultimate.

It is what we have all worked so hard
in our careers to ultimately attain.

So the tip here is, every time you sit down to run the numbers, go over how much retirement will cost,

do you have enough, and all those things
Doug talked about earlier,

also take the time to think about you personally and how 
you are going to shift and plan for that retirement transition. Moving into retirement can be a time of super happiness knowing that that freedom is on the other side,

especially if you plan for it with the tools we've just talked about.

I think moving into retirement SHOULD
be a cause for extreme happiness.

Congratulations!

Retirement is an opportunity for personal growth, 
exploration, travel, and contributing to your community,

wherever that is, wherever that takes you.

So we have leveraged our skills and
our experiences, and brought them into

our "second half of life,"

and we have found ways to add value with 
those skills and experiences to our "second half of life,"

and to our community and those around us.

So we invite you to consider these tools, as you plan your own "better second half of life" in your retirement transformation.

Please share your thoughts and experiences with us
in the comment section below,

and don't forget to subscribe to our channel
for more insights on retirement,

international living,

and retirement transformation!

And just remember that part of the problem can just be the word "retirement."

It has so many connotations, often negative.

People think of someone old, someone sitting around, something doing nothing, with no interest and not contributing.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

And that's why we prefer to call it, our "second half of life" instead.

And as we said earlier,
we've taken all those skills from the past,

from our careers, and moved them into 
this "second half of life," and created something new.

And you can too!

So we hope that the five ideas and tools that we've 
given you here today, give you some food for thought,

as begin to plan your own "better second half of life" 
in YOUR retirement transformation.

Thank you so much for spending
some of your day with us today.

Please let us know down below how you are 
preparing for that mental shift from professional to retiree. We'd love to hear from you.

And as always, check back in, and,

Track Us Down!