Vanessa Branchi
Summary.
This article explores the significant transition of retirement and offers insights into creating a satisfying postcareer life. It highlights the contrasting experiences of Irene and Lawrence, two retirees who navigated this change differently. Irene embraced retirement by engaging in activities like art classes and beach walks, finding fulfillment and alignment between her self and life structure. In contrast, Lawrence struggled with a lack of activities and responsibilities, leading to heavy drinking and a stint in rehab. The authors emphasize the importance of four key behaviors for a satisfying retirement: alignment between self and life structure, awareness of this interplay, agency in making changes, and adaptability to unforeseen circumstances. They also provide practical exercises to help retirees assess their current life structure, identify core aspects of their self, and create an ideal future life map. The insights and tools presented can be applied to other significant life transitions, making the process smoother and more fulfilling.For anyone who has established a meaningful professional identity over a decades-long career, retirement represents a huge—and potentially wrenching—transition. While some people navigate it well, many struggle. Consider, for example, the contrasting experiences of Irene and Lawrence, two knowledge workers at different companies, whom we interviewed as they prepared for and embarked on their postcareer lives. (Both names are pseudonyms.) The lessons that emerged from their stories, and from those of the many other people we studied, can help ease this major life change.