Topic: life transition
Thanks to longer lifespans, retirement isn’t a short chapter. It might be close to a third of your life! It sounds so inviting: Life as a blank canvas, with long mornings, travel—a new kind of “freedom.” In fact, many retirees find that once the structure of work fades, they feel surprisingly unmoored. After decades of purpose-driven days, the stillness can feel disorienting. It is not uncommon for retirees to report feeling caught between relief and restlessness, and even some depression.
It helps, then, to reframe this life stage not as an end, but a beginning. Whether you’re retiring solo or with a partner, take time to reflect not just on what has been left behind, but on what you’d like to step toward. Think about what excites you, what gives your life meaning, and what might bring new connections. …
Change is the only constant. And as we enter our later years, it seems the changes are more frequent. Before writing Life Is in the Transitions, Bruce Feiler interviewed 225 individuals to gain a sense of the ways people navigate disruption across the lifespan. He found that we experience roughly thirty-six transitions in a lifetime, averaging one every twelve to eighteen months. Often several pile up at once, especially when we are older. Common transitions for older adults include a shift in health or ability, a marital change (death or divorce), a new housing situation, or a drop in expected income. …