Beginnings are Wonderful Things

Beginnings are wonderful things: They are full of possibilities, they’re free, and everyone gets a new one any time they choose. What will you do with your new beginning called… retirement?

“Where are you movin’?” I once was asked. “On to better things!” I replied.

When I retired from the golf industry, I WAS moving on to better things, and suddenly I also felt like a fish out of water. Without the identity of my career, I wasn’t sure who I was anymore. A huge part of my identity had dissolved when I left my career.

Other women have experienced many the same reactions as I. A friend told me that early in retirement, she cried almost every single day. For moments each day, she felt gut-wrenching dread about being able to maintain her lifestyle on savings and social security. At various times each day the nay-sayer voice in her head re-played fearful, life-devastating scenarios … she failed, she ran out of money, she became homeless. Of course, none of that happened: they were just scary potential scenarios she created in her mind.

I could relate to her fears, although I was re-married just a couple of years prior to retiring. I enjoyed emotional and financial support from my husband. Still, my foundation was rocked. I didn’t want to be forced to rely on his income. I had lived self-sufficiently alone for many…