Remember when…

• Summer seemed to last forever?
• Christmas seemed like it would never come?
• Every birthday was a true milestone…I’m a teen, I can drive, I can vote, I’m 21, I’m 30…?
• Retirement seemed like a distant thing?

Well, we know time doesn’t stand still, and much like the IDEA of retirement turns into the REALITY of retirement, we hopefully are READY for retirement. Thanks to 401(k)s, other retirement savings vehicles, and more financial education, most people have been planning how much they need to have stashed away – but wait, there’s more planning needed!

What are you going to do during your retirement? If you’ve been really diligent at saving and can retire earlier, what are you going to do with even more time?

Recently, I had a client who is planning to retire in December, and she wanted to explore her interests deeper. She wants to approach her retirement as an opportunity to really do something that is interesting, spiritually fulfilling, challenging, and brings her true joy. She is already JoyPowered® in her work, but like many of us, slipped into her career somewhat by accident and somewhat by design. She has used her strengths professionally and had a great career. She wants to be more intentional in how she spends her retirement and decided to get coaching on the Strong Interest Inventory® and CliftonStrengths® to help inform her more.

The Strong Interest Inventory® is an assessment that can be used to explore interests in six areas and links those areas to fields of study, careers, and leisure activities. It also describes an individual’s personal style preferences such as work style, learning environment, team orientation, leadership style, and risk taking.

CliftonStrengths® is an assessment that helps individuals better understand their talents by giving them a name. By taking this well researched assessment, you can name, claim, and aim your strengths. When you know your strengths, you feel more empowered to set goals and can accomplish great things.

In combination, these two assessments give great insight into what interests you and motivates you. Isn’t it great to learn what really energizes you and where you can use that energy and your talents best? When you can identify and work to understand this about yourself, you can truly be JoyPowered® in work, leisure, and in retirement.

Planning for the mental and physical part of retirement is equally important to planning financially. You can have all of the money in the world but if you are stuck to your leather recliner with a remote in your hand, your body, mind, and spirit will atrophy.

I highly recommend getting a fresh look at your interests and strengths in preparing for and embarking on your next career – retirement. There are many other resources to find inspiration, such as a blog called “120 Ideas for What to Do in Retirement” by Kathleen Coxwell, where she lists sources of inspiration, exploration, and practical advice.

If you’re interested in learning more about what motivates you and areas that interest you, please reach out to me at Purple Ink – we can help coach you through this JoyPowered® process of self-discovery.