Get Ready For Some Retirement Coaching
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?”
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.
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 tele-conference 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 was 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.
Begin With A Certified Life Coach
Are you ready to explore the retirement coaching process? Are you asking yourself “What do I need for a successful retirement?” You need a certified Life Coach to help you set goals in a variety of life arenas, not just financial planning.
I am a Retirement Lifestyle Strategies Coach. My credentials include:
- Certified Life Coach
- Certified Retirement and ReCareer Coach
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
- National Certified Counselor
- Certified Couples Imago Relationship Therapist
- American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy
- Board of Certified Coaches (BCC)
- Toastmasters—Certified Competent Communicator
The Retirement Coaching Process
As a Life Coach and Certified Retirement Options Coach, I have the opportunity to use a number of tools to help pre-retirees determine their readiness for retirement or re-careering, depending on the circumstances and the individual needs of my clients.
Retirement Lifestyle Coaching helps clients explore when they will retire, how they will replace their work with other fulfilling and meaningful activities, whether they will stay in place or move to another home or have two homes in retirement, and how they will create a more positive attitude about this life transition. Clients learn that there is life after work and work after retirement. If they decide to work, it’s important to find a career that is fulfilling and fun. The process is enlightening, creative, and fun. Recareering is an excellent way to share your knowledge, skills, talent, and passion with others.
People who go through this process will reap the wonderful benefits of coaching. They will create a lifestyle vision customized for them individually or as a couple. Many couples go on to use my books Ready To Retire? Successful Retirement Planning To Make The Best Of The Rest Of Your Life and Where Will You Retire? A Retirement Guide And Exercises For Deciding Where To Retire, Buy A Second Home, Or Relocate to dig deeper into retirement questions and decisions. This helps them identify what they each want as individuals in retirement and where they might find common ground.
Life is too short for any moment to be lived at less than its fullest potential. Use the retirement coaching process to plan for your retirement and find a healthier, more fulfilling life after work for yourself.
Dee
As you face life’s challenges, I welcome the opportunity to assist you. I am offering corporate and group seminars as virtual consultations and virtual presentations. Please contact me.
Dee Cascio
Author, Speaker, Licensed Psychotherapist, Certified Life Coach, Retirement Lifestyle/ReCareer Coach, and Life and Work Transitions Strategies Coach.
The Life and Work Transitions Community
You’ve joined a great group — people who plan to make successful transitions in life and work. May you be inspired to use your strengths and skills to grow in this season and may each transition be your best ever.
Retirement Coaching Resources
Ready To Retire? Successful Retirement Planning To Make The Best Of The Rest Of Your Life
