Great work. You're three days into the climb on the way to your retirement summit, two more to go. On Day 1, we looked at an ideal day in retirement. On Day 2, we looked at money habits that might be holding you back.

Today, we're going to turn to something a lot more personal: your identity. Again, no financial advisor is asking these questions, and that's okay. They’re not trained for this (but they should be).

I once worked with a client, let's call him Joe. Joe was financially ready to retire and had been looking forward to it for years, but after just 25 days of being retired…

He hated it.

He missed the structure, the community, and the feeling of being part of a team. After an honest conversation with our team, Joe realized retirement hadn’t actually failed him. He just hadn’t figured out who he would be without work.

And you know what? Joe's not alone in feeling this way. Research from the Institute of Economic Affairs found that retirees are 41% more likely to struggle with depression than people still working. Often, the culprit isn't the extra free time, it's the sudden disappearance of an identity that took decades to build.

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A couple of days ago, you pictured what your ideal day of retirement would actually look like. Today's question is related, but it's less about the day-to-day and more about what's guiding it. I’m referring to the sense of purpose that holds a life together, not just a schedule.

So here's today's question,

If you quit your job tomorrow - you quit your title, your meetings, your schedule - who are you? What gives you a sense of purpose or structure once that's gone?

Most people spend decades introducing themselves with their job title. It's an easy shorthand for who you are.

Who are you, when you’re not:

CEO
President
Salesperson of the year
Boss
Owner
Executive
Engineer…

Will you be satisfied saying:
“Mom”
“Spouse”
“Best Friend”
“Grandparent”
“Board Member”
“Mentor”
“Volunteer”

Retirement is often the first time that shortcut goes away, and a lot of people don't realize how much they were relying on it until it's gone. Author Brené Brown says, "What we know matters, but who we are matters more."

With that in mind, write down one or two activities outside of work that make you feel like yourself. Maybe it's a hobby, a volunteer role, time with certain people, a project you care about. Try not to focus on the things you'll "get around to" one day, but things that already give you a sense of purpose right now.

If nothing comes to mind right away, that's worth noticing too. Maybe ask “when’s the last time I felt truly alive?”

Then, pick one of those activities and spend at least 10 minutes actually doing it this week, not just planning it for ‘later’. Planning for later is how good intentions quietly disappear. Doing it today is what makes it real. Great work on this. Let's keep going.

More tomorrow,

Tim Meisenheimer, CFP®, CFA
CEO, Streamline Financial