The Retirement Detox Program

Great Quotes - On changing things...

You can’t change your entire life.
You can only change your next action.

You can’t change a relationship with a loved one.
You can only change your next interaction.

You can’t change your entire job.
You can only change your next task.

You can’t change your body composition.
You can only change your next meal.

You can’t change your fitness level.
You can only start moving.

You can’t de-clutter your entire life.
You can only choose to get rid of one thing, right now.

You can’t eliminate your entire debt.
You can only make one payment, or buy one less unnecessary item.

You can’t change the past, or control the future.
You can only change what you’re doing right now.

You can’t change everything.
You can only change one, small thing.
And that’s all it takes.

Leo Babauta

Great Quotes - About dissatisfaction in retired women

The fact remains - cleaning and cooking simply may not compete with the highs of a job that has intellectual stimulation, problem solving, teamwork, validation, recognition and so much more.

Bernice Bratter and Helen Dennis

Volunteering opportunities

If you live in the UK and you're looking for opportunities (both locally and nationally) to do voluntary work, there's a national database of volunteering opportunities at www.do-it.org.  Just type in your postcode and away you go...

Could retirement be making you ill?

Do you have a high-pressure job?  Could you be described as a workaholic?  Maybe with perfectionistic tendencies and a high need for achievement? 

Are you, generally, perfectly healthy during the working week but regularly experiencing headaches/migraines, fatigue, muscular pain, nausea and/or flu-like symptoms at weekends or holiday/vacation times?

If I've just described you, you may have 'leisure sickness' - first identified by Dutch psychologist, Ad Vingerhoets of Tillburg University in 2001.  And you're not alone - it seems that at least 3 per cent of the working population (particularly high-performing individuals), identify themselves as suffering from symptoms of illness at times when work-related pressure is off and they don't have much on their 'to-do' list.

As I understand it, the theory is that leisure sickness is caused by the fact that the immune system - the body's defence mechanism - works particularly efficiently when it's under stress and boosted by the production of adrenaline.  However, when that pressure is removed (as it is at weekends and during holidays/vacations), and adrenaline levels start to fall, the body becomes more susceptible to illness.

Another theory is that, at weekends and holidays, people who thrive in high-pressure situations may start to suffer from 'underload syndrome' - a term used to refer to any kind of ill health caused by lack of stimulation or challenge.  It's thought that, when stimulation and challenges are removed, the body stops producing vital hormones such as endorphins, which, in turn, results in a drop in metabolic rate, leading to low energy, a sluggish immune system  and a susceptibility to infection.

Before you retire, of course, the symptoms associated with leisure sickness only last for the weekend or, at most, for the length of your holiday/vacation.  But what if you regularly suffer from leisure sickness and you're approaching retirement?  If the causes of this condition are underload and the inability to successfully transition from the 'work' to the 'non-work' environment, does that mean that, unless you manage the situation carefully, there's a good chance that you could spend your whole retirement feeling ill?

As someone who has a special interest in helping people who are experiencing difficulty with retirement, I am currently researching the impact of 'leisure sickness' on a retiree's ability to make a successful transition into retirement.  If you are already retired and feel that your retirement is being adversely affected by leisure sickness or, if you feel that you suffer from leisure sickness, are approaching retirement and would like to explore this issue further, I'd love to hear from you.  Please contact me at ann@annharrisonlifecoaching.com with 'Leisure Sickness' in the title of your email.

Consider Your Accumulated Experiences As a Retirement Asset by Don Seibert

In thinking about the possibility of retiring, we all must, at some time or another, add up our accumulated savings, 401K investments, company pensions, potential social security checks, etc to try to plan a retirement lifestyle that's suitable for us. We have all been through that process and, given the state of the economy right now, may have determined that retirement is more of a future dream than a pending reality.

In doing this 'asset review' no accountant or planner that I know of actually considers one of your most important assets! They cannot possible know how many skills or how much valuable experience, talent, and knowledge you have accumulated in your life until now. By the time they are "Over 50", most of us has had a wealth of experience, whether in a job, a profession, a hobby, a sport or just in the regular family life that we have enjoyed.

It may be time now to begin to cash in on your accumulated experience. Many people have been able to carve out very fun and rewarding second careers just by leveraging on the skills, talents and knowledge that they have between their ears! And with the global advances of the Internet, it doesn't really matter just how particular or specialized a niche that your expertise is in.

If you were to simply take a pencil and paper and a few minutes, I'll bet that you could list out 20-25 experiences that you have had that other people could learn or benefit from. Whether it's dealing with a difficult disease with a member of your family or a technique or procedure that you learned in your employment, knowledge of these things and how to make the best of them can be truly beneficial to other people. If fact, if you could find a way to capture and transfer this information to others, they will be happy to pay you for your time and trouble!

It won't cost you a thing to take this little inventory and to spend some time thinking of ways that you could write a book (e-book or hard bound), create a video or CD, or perhaps build a website on your special topic. Many thousands of people are doing just that today and are earning from $1,000 to $30,000 per month by simply leveraging their experience and knowledge.

You know, we can be mesmerized by all of the 24/7 bad news coverage and we can listen to the 'talking heads' prophets of gloom on the Television and in the press - or - we can take it upon ourselves to actually do something positive for ourself! This is not dependent on any government bailout program or handout or even on our ability to raise money to start a company. You already have the most important ingredient for your success - right between your ears! Now go put that to use!

Resources: Don Seibert is a retired business executive who, as an Expert Author, writes timely articles and books on many issues concerning accumulated knowledge. Having retired three times, he now writes a blog concerning this topic. Visit the site for a complete discussion of Retirement Income Options

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Seibert

5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Becoming An Entrepreneur

Many people dream of running their own, often hobby-related, business once they retire.  You may be one of them.  But unless you've had previous experience of getting a business off the ground, you probably won't be prepared for the impact that entrepreneurship can have on your finances, your family life, your time and your emotions.

In this article entitled, 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming an Entrepreneur, author and founder of Vocation Vacations, Brian Kurth points out that, 'Entrepreneurialism is not for the faint of heart'.

What would you like to become excellent at?

It takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve excellence.  Retirement 'frees up' between 2,000 and 3,000 hours per year.  What would you like to become excellent at?

Thought Provokers: About voluntary work

'Investing time in a community organization or a charity because you are a helpful and kind person is not the same as doing it because you feel passionately about contributing to a greater good or making the world more beautiful or friendly.'

Karen Gail Lewis

Do you agree with the above statement?

What kinds of voluntary work have you done/considered because you are a helpful and kind person?

What kinds of voluntary work do/would you feel passionately about?

The Get-Started-Now Guide to Becoming Self-Employed

From Leo Babauta at the Zen Habits blog:  The Get-Started-Now Guide to Becoming Self-Employed

 

Some ideas for that retirement business

Here are some retirement business ideas that might appeal from the author of Making a Living Without a Job, Barbara Winter.  (And, if you already have the skills or the know-how, most of them won't cost an arm and a leg to start up.)