Why Retirement Falls Short (It's Not About the Money)

Retirement is a Big Adjustment

What if I told you, retirement doesn’t fall short because you haven’t saved enough money? I’m convinced it falls short because no one teaches us how to design a life without work being at the center of it.

Until we retire, our entire adult life revolves around work and often raising a family. Our schedules, our identity, even our sense of purpose is centered on work and family. I remember really looking forward to the freedom of this. Many people look forward to retirement and think it’s going to be awesome to get to do what you want, when you want. 

But what I’ve seen so often is people really struggling to adjust. People with solid financial plans. And if that’s you, I want you to know: There is nothing wrong with you. A great retirement isn’t something you simply step into. But it can be something you create — with intention.

I think people commonly believe that if you have the money and the time, you’ll easily find fulfillment as well. The problem is, time and money alone don’t create meaning. Without intention, many people find themselves either drifting through their days… or, like I did, staying just as crazy busy as before and either way, you’re missing that deep sense of fulfillment.

When I left my corporate job, I was excited to take on a passion project. I started a small business creating these seasonal wellness journals I’m really proud of. I thought my stress levels would drop because I’d have plenty of time for working out, cooking healthy meals and doing all the things I had been looking forward to when I stopped working. 

What actually happened is that it took me several years to slowly craft what I consider my ideal retired life. And this had nothing to do with the money I set aside for it.

Don’t get me wrong, financial planning matters. In fact, it can definitely decrease some of the anxiety of this big life transition. But unfortunately, most retirement planning stops there. You might think of things you’d like to do when you’re retired, but most people don’t really think about how you’ll actually live your days–how you’ll find meaning, purpose, better health and good relationships. These things don’t magically organize themselves on their own.

Work is a paycheck, but it also gives structure, shapes your identity, and gives you a clear role and path. When that’s gone, it can feel unsettling — even when you look forward to retiring.

Many people are caught off guard by this. They think something is wrong with them. But it’s not a personal failure — it’s simply a lack of some reflective planning.

Common Retirement Strugges

Here are a few things I see most often.

1. Too much unstructured time, which sounds awesome at first… but can quickly feel disorienting. People feel guilty for not being productive. So they load up their lives with things to keep themselves busy, even if they aren’t enjoying it. Or, they go back to work.

2. Other people enter retirement saying yes to everything, because they can — and then they find themselves feeling just as exhausted as when they were working.

3. Or, there are the people who wait for motivation or inspiration to just show up, and then they wonder why it doesn’t.

Creating a Non-Monetary Plan for Retirement

This all comes back to not creating a plan for how you want to live once you are retired.

There’s really no one ‘right’ way to live your retired life.

Some people thrive with lots of social connection. Others crave structure. Some want flexibility. You have to look inside yourself for what will make you happy and create your own ideal retirement that works for you.

You might wonder, how do I even start to do this?

I think the best place to begin is with understanding yourself and how you’re wired, what gives you energy, what drains you, and what you really want from this next season.

When you have this kind of clarity, you can begin to create a plan for your days that feels really good.

This is why I created a short little, fun retirement quiz–to get you started thinking about how you are wired for retirement and to help you begin to see yourself a little more clearly.

It gives you insight into the kind of retirement you’re naturally designed for, so you don’t guess what to do, you make choices that align deeply with you.

I don’t like to think about retirement as the end of something–rather I like to think of it as a wide-open beginning.

And I do believe that beginnings deserve some extra intention.

If you’re ready to explore what this season could look like for you, I invite you to start with the quiz — then look for tips in my weekly emails. I love sharing what I’ve found that works for me, as well as what I’ve learned that works well for others at this stage of life.  I’m here to help you thoughtfully, and beautifully, redesign this next chapter of your life.