Why Planning Your "Re-Fired" Retirement Is Vitally Important

Summary: Just about all of us plan to retire one day. You may visualize yourself with plenty of free time on your hands, no commute, and finally with an opportunity to travel with the person you love. But statistics show that golden dream comes true for only a very few of Americans. Some studies reveal less than 10 percent of us ever retire. Even more alarming, other studies show a large percentage die within a year or two after retirement.

Just about all of us plan to retire one day. You may visualize yourself with plenty of free time on your hands, no commute, and finally with an opportunity to travel with the person you love. But statistics show that golden dream comes true for only a very few of Americans. Some studies reveal less than 10 percent of us ever retire. Even more alarming, other studies show a large percentage die within a year or two after retirement. Clearly, an enjoyable, healthy retirement is not something that just "happens." To get past all the challenges that lie in your way, you need to plan for your retirement wisely. I advise people in my seminars NOT to retire, but to RE-FIRE. Instead of looking at retirement as merely leaving the world of work, look at retirement as a time when you can finally achieve the things you've always wanted to do. Most retirement advice centers around telling you to put a lot of money in a savings account. While saving for retirement is important, most of what you should do to retire well can be accomplished within five years of retirement. Much of what you need to do to retire successfully is mental and spiritual. When many of us retire, we walk away from a life of work that filled our days, exercised our minds, and included most of our good friends. Once you're retired, you find your days become empty and unfulfilling, even depressing. That's why it's critical to plan new tasks, goals, and attitudes for retirement. While sitting in an easy chair and relishing not having to go to work can be fun for a while, you'll soon need activities and relationships to make your days fulfilling. You'll also need ways to create a satisfying social life that often includes important new friends. That's why RE-FIREING in your retirement years is the right approach to take. Rather than giving up, you're recharging and moving forward to an even more exciting life. Focus on attaining optimum good health, creating the fine-tuned relationships you've always wanted, and finally accomplishing some of your true purposes in life. Re-firing can help you figure out what has been missing from your life, what you really want to do in your senior years, and help you develop solid strategies for quickly achieving your important goals.