  


Preparation is key


And each day that we log at work brings us one day closer to it. But all too often, this long-awaited stage heralds not blissful relaxation but a nagging feeling of … “Now what?”


 “I think the underlying issue for a lot of the challenges of a good post-retirement life is that we basically don’t tend to think about or plan for that phase of our lives until we’re there,” says Bob Knight, PhD, a professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. “We have years of education to prepare us for our careers,


and we spend years thinking about and planning them. We tend not to spend any time at all planning for retirement. More generally, we just don’t think about the full life span.” Yet there is plenty of time to mull over options as the time ap-


proaches, says Dr. Knight, especially given that retirement for most people today is more of a gradual transition that involves part-time paid or volunteer work before stopping work entirely. The key to a successful, happy retirement is preparation, he


says, but not just the financial kind. Too often, people forget to plan for how they will maintain their physical, psychological and emotional health. For example, they may think about relo- cating to a less expensive, less stressful part of the country, but fail to consider what they will do when they get there or how they will maintain the social connections so crucial to good emotional health. Dr. Knight recommends beginning to sow those connec- tions long before you buy that retirement home. “If you plan to relocate after retirement and it’s at all affordable, spend at least a full year where you plan to move before making irreversible decisions to move,” he says. “Experience all four seasons there. See what it’s like to be a


local rather than a tourist. My sense from clinical experience working with older adult clients is that we tend to underesti- mate the importance of friendship connections and familiarity


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