When making the decision to retire, there are two factors we need to consider.
The first factor is the obvious one: do we have enough money?
And with some simple math, this is easy enough to figure out.
However, the second factor doesn’t have a formula that will yield a clear-cut answer.
That’s because it involves evaluating whether we are emotionally ready to make that transition into the next chapter of our lives.
As a result, today’s post will be exploring 5 different emotional signs we can look for that can indicate whether we are emotionally ready to make the transition into retirement.
Let’s dive in.
1. You daydream about the goals you want to achieve
Everyone daydreams on a daily basis, myself included.
As we approach retirement, it’s important to pay attention to how often and what we are daydreaming about. That’s because our wandering minds can provide valuable insight into how we feel about where we are at in our lives today and where we want to go in the future.
So the next time you find yourself daydreaming, ask yourself questions such as:
- Are we daydreaming because we are not happy with our lives today?
- Are we daydreaming to plan ahead and prepare for what we want for the future?
- Are we daydreaming about what life would be like if we had more time for our goals?
By having an honest conversation with ourselves, we can identify the reasons for our daydreaming. This in turn will give us valuable insight that we can use to judge whether or not we are emotionally ready to retire.
2. You don’t find fulfillment in what you do
The reality is that most of us don’t find fulfillment in our jobs.
In fact, a study by Deloitte found that a staggering 88% of America’s work force were not passionate about their work. And with the recent rise of the antiwork movement, I’m sure that number will only continue to rise.
As we get closer to retirement, we need to be constantly evaluating whether or not we should continue working that unfulfilling job or begin planning for the next chapter of our lives.
Because the truth is that we don’t have that much time on Earth.
And with that limited time, we should ensure we have enough of it to do the things that enrich our lives. That is why my goal is to become a time millionaire vs a dollar millionaire.
With that being said, if you are part of the 12% who do have a passion for their work, more power to you! If you truly love what you do, don’t feel pressured to retire.
The bottom line is that we need to be cognizant of our own morality. At that point, we can ensure that we are maximizing our limited time on this Earth doing the things that bring us the most joy.
3. You’ve already developed a social network
One of the most important precursors for a successful retirement is developing a close-knit social network in order to remain socially active.
That is because going from daily social interaction (usually via work) to self-isolation can have damaging physical and mental impacts on our health.
In a column for Forbes, Research Psychologist Rob Pascale noted that:
Social isolation is as high a health risk factor as obesity and smoking 15 cigarettes a day. On the psychological side, self-esteem can be weakened and there’s a higher risk of depression. There’s can also be physical consequences, possibly from a lack of activity but also from the stress of feeling alone. Those who are socially disconnected are 1) More at risk of high blood pressure, coronary disease, and stroke 2) Have a faster breakdown of cognitive skills and greater likelihood of dementia because the mind is less active 3) Have greater decline of functional skills, such as walking or climbing stairs 4) Have a weakened immune system, possibly linked to stress.
Rob Pascale, Research Psychologist
This is consistent with a 2016 study published by BMC Geriatrics that found:
The positive relationship between network size and life satisfaction is consistent across countries. On the other hand, the share of friends in the network appears to be generally negatively related to satisfaction with life, though results are not statistically significant for all countries.
BMC Geriatrics
At the end of the day, we humans are social creatures.
And a lot of our social interaction can be tied back to where we work.
That is why we need to make sure that we have a plan in order to remain socially active.
Whether that’s volunteering for a cause or spending more time with those closest to us, it’s important to develop a social network prior to retirement in order to decrease our chances of becoming depressed.
4. Your job gives you a lot of stress and anxiety
No one likes feeling stressed out all the time, especially at work.
As a result, it should be no surprise that a 2020 Finnish study on job satisfaction found that:
“Job dissatisfaction arising from adverse working conditions is significantly related to intentions to retire and that this, in turn, is related to actual retirement during an extensive follow-up period.
University of Jyväskylä, Labour Institute for Economic Research and IZA Institute of Labor Economics
Stress from job dissatisfaction can come from many things, including but not limited to:
- Lack of work-life balance
- Interacting with unpleasant colleagues
- Dealing with deadlines that are impossible to keep up with
- Spreading yourself too thin with multiple projects (and seeing no reward)
Tack any workplace stress we have onto stress from our personal lives and the result can be detrimental to both our physical and mental health. It’s not healthy to be under constant stress all the time.
If that is the case, it may be worth having the conversation with ourselves on whether we should transition to part-time work, find a new job altogether or consider retiring. Because the last thing we need to experience is emotional burnout.
5. You are jealous of your friends retiring
In my post on “Why Can’t Life be Easy,” I talk about how there is no such thing as a bad emotion.
In fact, every emotion in our emotional catalog (positive + negative) plays a fundamental role in our personal growth and development as humans.
With this in mind, if we find ourselves becoming jealous that our family & friends are retiring, we should try to understand where that emotion is coming from by asking questions like:
- Are we jealous because we wish we had the time to make progress on our goals?
- Are we jealous because we feel like we work harder and deserve to retire?
- Are we jealous because individuals similar to us are doing it, so we should be there as well?
Like we looked at earlier with daydreaming, it’s important to ask ourselves these types of questions to understand where this emotion is coming from. At that point, we can better understand if the jealousy we feel is a sign that we are emotionally ready to retire.
With that being said, it’s important to not prematurely retire just because our friends are doing it (Keeping up the Joneses, Retirement Edition). This is especially true if we are not financially prepared to do so.
Despite how easy and often we compare ourselves to others, it’s important to remember that everyone’s situation is different.
Final Thoughts
The decision to retire shouldn’t solely be based on a number on a screen.
Because at the end of the day, that number won’t tell us if we are emotionally prepared to transition into that next chapter of our lives.
By engaging in an honest emotional self-reflection prior to making the leap, we can increase our chances of having a successful, happy & meaningful retirement.
Thank you for reading! 🙂
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