Retirement Identity Crisis

You retire. Retirement Identity Crisis hits home. You never expected this... BOOM!

Who am I and what do I want to do with the rest of my life?

I wrote this WHO AM I  a week or so ago, I found a website that had all these "re" words to describe retirement in a different way. Then, for some unknown reason, I used some of those words to describe myself here on my site... <grin!>

This page is loosely based on the church service I just attended, named "Hello, My Name Is..." 

As I listened, I thought more and more about retirees facing the same question, after their employment identity is gone. I will add a few bible verses at the end of this post, but I am writing this from a retiree point of view, not a Christian view.

Signs you are looking for other people's approval

  • You obsess about what others think
  • You are often overly sensitive 
  • You compromise your values  
  • You hesitate sharing your faith  
  • You have a hard time saying No 

Our egos are incredibly insecure. We post selfies or what we had for lunch, on Facebook, hoping others like or comment. We want approval. We worry about what we wear, what we say. We believe in something, but will do it differently to find approval from a partner, friend, co-worker. We are people pleasers. We can't even say No. We inwardly scream Noooo, but outwardly we are agreeable. 

Retirement is the Time to Be Ourselves so why this retirement identity crisis?



Wendy, April 2016 at NAMS Workshop. First time since I retired six years ago, that I took the mic and spoke, intelligently! Remember --I am the introvert.

Over a lifetime, we've pleased our parents, partners, kids, co-workers and boss, and many friends. We often do what they want us to do, not what makes US happy, fulfilled and content with life. We do what's expected of us... we conform.

I believe that retirement is the time to figure out who we really are. Dig down into our core selves, and emerge to be our True Self.

I want to be the best version of ME that I can be. I want to live life on my terms, and push others to do the same.

Can you live your retirement days, allowing yourself to do what you choose to do, whatever makes your heart sing -- and not what others expect of you? 

Retirement could be a brand new lifestyle. Not just an improved version of your life, but seriously new. You can shed who you were, and begin anew with a new focus or identity, if you care to.

Introducing The NEW RETIRED YOU: Retirement Lifestyle Balance Program !

Leave your Past Behind

Leave your past behind. Don't forget it, but don't dwell on it either. You've worked hard over a lifetime to do what you accomplished in life:

  • School, College, Training
  • Marriage and Family
  • Employment

However, please -- no regrets!

Forget whatever you did wrong. We all have lapses in judgement and err in life sometimes. A failure is just that, a failure. You gained experience and knowledge from every slip and failure, and that made you what you are today.

If there are people in your life who continue to judge you based on past events, step back from being in their lives. Give yourself a break from their actions and reminders of your past. You seriously don't need that.

You are God's Masterpiece

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

You are the light of the world -- like a city built on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14 (NLT)

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Romans 12:1 (NIV)

We already have all we need to do what we choose to do.

It doesn't matter your background or what you think you can do, you can squash that noisy negative self-talk, that subconscious voice always trying to protect you, and DO what you want to do.  YOU REALLY CAN! 

When you know who you are, you know what you can do... and might even get brave enough to DO IT. 

Start whatever it is, wherever you are! You are the light of the world!

YOU, Retiree, Can Do This! (whatever "this" is in your world)

I love this quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"