As a Retirement Lifestyle Coach who helps those making life and work transitions, I have written numerous articles, blog posts, newsletters, and books on various topics and concepts related to retirement lifestyle planning. My message has been to encourage everyone to begin planning for their retirement 3 to 5 years before it actually happens. I have touched on a number of areas including disengaging from work, attitudes towards retirement, how this transition affects your relationship with your family and friends, finding purpose in retirement, and leaving a legacy to be proud of, to name just a few.
I continue to receive inquiries from prospective clients asking specifically, “What exactly is Retirement Lifestyle Coaching and what does a Retirement Lifestyle Coach actually do?” These queries helped me realize that I needed to be more specific about how a person plans their retirement using a thoughtful, focused, and conscious approach.
The following information may help you to decide if retirement lifestyle coaching is for you or clarify “do you know what you don’t know about retirement planning?” You can also read more on my website.
What Is Coaching?
We are all familiar with the concept of coaching as it relates to the world of sports. There are no professional teams or sports activities that would consider going forward without a good coach who is able to take raw talent and turn it into high performance. Talent needs coaches to ensure success.
Life coaching is no different in that regard. People who use life coaches realize that no one can know everything. Having a coach to partner with and help you define your goals makes success more achievable. A retirement lifestyle coach focuses on retirement goals.
Thomas Leonard, one of the main founders of Life Coaching in the early 1990s, created this profession because he saw the value of having a coach support people in certain areas of their life. Thomas Leonard’s vision grew into a number of specialized coach training programs. Life coaching has caught on in business and personal communities, helping many people live happier lives.
A client comes to coaching usually because there is a gap between where they are in their current lives and where they would like to be. Goals are identified to help the client bridge that gap. Progress is a function of partnership and collaboration between the coach and client as they create the client’s personal vision for their future. A coach requires and expects behavior changes and asks the client to be responsible and accountable in following through. In the process of coaching, a coach can help a client to expand their thinking, clarify goals, and help them to hold their vision to achieve their goals. Coaching is present-oriented, forward-moving, challenging yet fun, and holds the client accountable for taking the necessary steps toward change. Coaching can be done in a variety of convenient settings: in person, over the phone, or by teleconference call.
What Is Retirement Lifestyle Coaching?
Retirement Lifestyle Coaching is a specialized area of life coaching. Richard Johnson, Ph. D, founder of Retirement Options, was a pioneer in coaching when he had a vision of an unprecedented wave of baby boomers beginning the retirement transition. He believed that boomers would be discontent with their grandparents and parents retirement to leisure. Dr. Johnson realized that settling into a life of leisure would be unfulfilling for our Boomer generation. He believed that high achieving boomers would be looking for a more reasonable pace of life. To assist boomers in preparing for this transition, he set up a training program for coaches using detailed assessments he developed over the years. One of the assessments, the Retirement Success Profile, assesses a client’s readiness to retire in 15 different areas, only one of which is financial planning. I am trained to administer and interpret these assessments. The idea here is that to be well prepared for retirement, you need to think about other aspects of this transition besides just financial planning. Retirement Lifestyle Coaching is a process that helps people who are 3 to 5 years from retirement begin thinking and planning for how they want this next stage of their life to look.
Are you ready to begin the process of transitioning from work to a successful retirement lifestyle? Give me a call so we can create the life you want.