Hi friends. It’s Devin, Founder and CEO of Choules Financial. Today we’re going to talk about thriving mentally inside of retirement. It is a unique shift. You’ve spent your entire life with a certain identity—you wake up, you go to a job, you spend the majority of your waking hours with people who aren’t your family. Then, all of a sudden, you retire. The identity is gone. The relationships can disappear.
Because of that, it’s very important to have some structure and plan ahead. It doesn’t have to be scary. The purpose here is simply to be aware of what can happen during this identity shift. After working for 40 years, you now have “you” time. And within that, you have to learn how to be okay without a schedule or the structure that work once provided.
This is a great time to pick up old hobbies, find new friends, or rekindle relationships with old ones. I firmly believe that’s why so many of my clients, when I ask them what they want to say yes to in retirement, talk about their grandbabies. That becomes their new focus. Their new identity isn’t about working anymore—it’s about being present for their grandchildren. They always joke that the gift for not killing your kids is grandbabies.
There are plenty of ways to find new structure in retirement, but we need to accept that this shift will happen whether we plan for it or not. Redefining your purpose is key. For some, it’s spending time with grandkids. For others, it’s volunteering or getting involved in the community. In some of our southern locations, many clients have picked up pickleball. One of my favorite clients dances with the local mosquitoes down in Mesquite. They’ve found things that give them a sense of identity and purpose again. It gets them up in the morning and keeps them from falling into the habit of just sitting around watching TV.
Knowing that change is coming and being adaptable to it makes all the difference. Take time to ask yourself what you really want out of life. Too often—and I’m just as guilty of this as anyone—work takes over, and we forget to live. I did that for years. That’s part of why we’re making this video today.
In fact, that’s why our company talks about living a life of yes. There was a time when I lost focus and let work become the only thing I cared about. Now I want something better for my clients and for retirees. Retirement isn’t just about saying yes to trips and travel. It’s also about saying yes to the things that make you feel alive—volunteering, riding bikes, golfing, dancing. Those are the things that help you stay younger longer and improve your quality of life.
Adopting a growth mindset is important. It’s okay for things to change. It’s okay to learn new things. What today’s message is really about is this: don’t let retirement sneak up on you without a plan. Your identity may be tied to your job, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Look for the little things you can do daily to build your new life.
As I’ve said before, we don’t rise to the level of our dreams—we fall to the level of our habits. So if there are things you want to do in retirement, start making time for them now. That way, when the day comes and you step into retirement, you’re stepping into a life you’ve already begun to create.
Alright folks, that’s all for this week’s Key to Yes. Let’s make sure we step into retirement with the right mindset—living a life of yes—and that we’re okay with transitioning into this next chapter. Thank you, and as always, subscribe down below, hit the notification button, and we’ll be back next week. Thank you.
