You may miss...

When you retire, you may miss the fast, hectic paced days, when you are scrambling to finish that latest project. You may miss being in the action, being held in high regard by your workmates and maybe even management. You may miss the stress of getting to work on time, finishing the day, rushing home. You may miss the chatter at work about what you will do or what you did on your weekend and holidays.

You may also miss the slow times and quiet days. Your circle of friends will become smaller, and you may miss those you called friends at work. You may miss plodding along at your own pace, working in spurts, and wondering where your next break will come from. Even your uncertainties, doubts, and fears may be missed.

As you focus on your workday, the idea of missing the stress of working sounds far-fetched, but it is true for many people. Many people who once held positions of relative power are faced with the idea that “I used to be someone important” but when I retired “I no longer am someone important”. Many of us identify who we are with what job we do, and in retirement, we have to focus on defining who we are, not by what job we do, but by what we do for others.

When you are first retired you miss work, strange but true. Life works like that, and we year for the safety of what we know. Retirement is a whole new adventure and not many tell us the rules. When we started work, others showed us or told us the rules and we followed them and become successful Now Boomers are making new rules about retirement so there is not a lot of rules to follow, and that is scary. However, the rewards of retirement will become known to you, over time and you will no longer miss any of the above. Trust me! As you adjust perhaps a glass of wine will help.