Are you, like so many Boomers, The Accidental Retiree?  Maybe you did not mean to retire, but the economy slowed, the job did not work out, or you had health issues.  Many can relate, based on personal anecdotes.

Below are some tips to help through this time:

• Don’t isolate!  It’s so easy to feel like a failure, to start staying home, to hide in bed, to forget to get out.  It does not help that it is difficult to answer the normal cocktail party question: “What do you do?”
• On that note, find a canned answer to that question, and practice it.  For example: I am a ChangeArtist; I am on a sabbatical to do some writing; I am restructuring and reassessing some of my goals.  I really threw someone off when he asked what I did, and I responded “I am” or “just being”— something like that.  Yet, that’s how I felt! 
• Network.  Although this is the HARDEST time to network, it is also the most important time to do so.  Find your resources; list them; let them know how they can help, but without sounding needy.
• Stay active, get out, do things, join new groups, be vibrant.
• Exercise.  You will feel better and this may be the perfect time to get in shape.  It will help your image to others, and increase your self esteem.
• Analyze your situation.  The book ChangeArtist (available via this site) gives you strategic planning steps to help analyze your situation.
• Use the Balance Wheel on this site to analyze where you are and where you want to be on each of the 7 elements.  List what strategies you need to employ to get you further to a 10.  List tactics (activities) to support each strategy.
• Attend to your physical and emotional health, as stress can affect them negatively.
• Attend to your finances and make sure you stay in good financial shape.  Cut back if need be.
• Analyze your image and see if you like it.  Perhaps investing in a new look or clothing may lift your spirits or update your image or even take you into a new desired image.
• Prepare yourself to take advantage of opportunities. Catch up on doctor’s appointments and other things on your lists.  You will feel better about yourself, your life, and they will not burden you if the right job or situation comes along. 
• Read about loss and transition.  This is what you are going through, and studying it will help you understand it and cope better with it.
• Think of goals you could create and accomplish during this ‘down time.’
• Discuss with yourself if perhaps this is not just a small shift, but requires a huge shift in how you live life, in what you see yourself as doing, in how you live.  This may be a major directional change, due to age, change in finances, environmental shifts, or other external or internal changes.  It may be time for a totally new direction.  Open yourself to possibilities, brainstorm, and try not to limit your future.  Be open and eager for tomorrow. 
• Keep good notes to remind yourself of your many good thoughts and ideas.
• Find or create a support group, call on friends, let others keep you buoyant.
• Find your inner creativity as a way to express your frustrations, your ideas, and your overall essence.
• Volunteer or work part-time in new areas of interest as a way of trying them out.
• Accept your emotions: they may range from happiness to sadness, to loss, to excitement.  However, put aside negative energy during interviews.
• Highlight your life skills; you have learned much as you have worked in various jobs.  Identify those and leverage them, be they teambuilding, how to identify and solve problems, conflict resolution, or other skills based on your numerous experiences.
• Try to (re)create self-confidence.  List your skills for yourself.  Be kind to yourself.  Do what it takes to create and/or restore self-confidence and self-esteem.  Create a plan for doing so and adhere to it.
• Enjoy the ride and enjoy the next adventure!

Category: Getting There