10 unexpected retirement facts no one tells you

• Retirement can be the best time of your life, but there are challenges to address.
• Changing identity and the need to find new purpose can be daunting.
• Relationships require more effort and attention after retirement.
• Focusing on healthcare becomes essential for a fulfilling retirement.
• Embracing newfound freedom can be overwhelming without structure.
• Seeking new hobbies and learning can lead to joy and fulfillment.

Retirement can absolutely be the best time of your life and the best time of our life, but it also can be met with some problems that really need to be addressed. Absolutely. You know, you can come up with challenges, expectations that fall short, rules, boundaries, all of it gets a little confusing when you enter retirement.

So after five years in retirement, what we're giving with you today is 10 unexpected facts that people might not necessarily have told you about retirement. This is tried and true from our experience and from those folks that we work with.

It really runs the gamut—between shifting your identity to creating new patterns and routines, to finding new friends and new community. I mean, it really runs the gamut, wouldn't you say? I would. While we’ve had some fits and starts and we're really in a good momentum now, meeting people that really get in there and get lost, we have to share these facts.

Some people might ask: why do I really need to do all this work? Why do we even listen to you guys? I've got everything figured out—like my finances are figured out. Why do I need to work on my retirement? And that's a good question. But it’s not always easy for everyone.

A lot of people figure that they'll figure it out when they get into it. However, once you're in it, automatic habits and routines kind of start to come at you. Some of them may not be the healthiest or the best for longevity. Ignoring some of these surprising facts that we found could hurt you.

Look in the notes below too, because we’ve put a link in for our free one-year retirement checklist that might be helpful to you if you're new in retirement.

The first thing that you need to be aware of is that your identity might change dramatically. It definitely will take a shift because you're leaving behind everything that you knew—every label that you had, every title you succeeded with, every person that you managed. All of that you built your career on over the years. You're shifting away from that.

Part of this, again, is the whole idea of purpose. You might lose it when you leave your career or, if you're home with the kids and they move out, suddenly you’ve lost that daily purpose of caring for your children.

So, be prepared for the fact that your identity will shift and sometimes dramatically. I hope we're able to do a video deeper into purpose because it’s a word that’s been overused. There are lots of different ways to find purpose—big purpose with a big P, little purpose with a little p.

The second thing is relationships will need and crave more effort. I truly believe this to be the case with all relationships—spousal, partner, critical relationships, children, grandchildren, friends. They just aren’t by happenstance anymore.

In your career, relationships came to you: you hired a new person, had a new teammate, or a new client. But now in retirement, these relationships need more effort. We have more free time, yet we often wonder, who am I going to have lunch with?

It takes effort to continue to build relationships, which is something a lot of people don’t talk about when they start thinking about retirement.

The third thing that people might not discuss is the focus required on your healthcare. For us, that is probably at the core of what we do on a daily, weekly, monthly, year-long basis—focusing on our health. This includes maintaining and keeping up with regular doctor’s visits and checkups.

We used to poke fun at your parents for having all their checkups in January. Now, I find us doing the same—concentrating on our healthcare checkups.

When we think about health and wellness, many of us just think of our physical health. However, focusing on health also includes your mental health. We are addicted to exercise now. We have one-on-one training and go to group classes. But if you’re missing the gym due to an issue, how does that feel?

The fourth fact is that newfound freedom can feel overwhelming. When you first get into retirement, you might find yourself with all this free time and no meetings. It’s like, oh my God, what am I going to do?

And while this free time can be overwhelming, it can also cause you to feel like you're wasting time. That's where having some kind of routine to fill your day really helps.

The emotional well-being when you enter retirement is not something to take for granted. During your career, there was a lot connected emotionally, both positive and negative. Protecting your emotional well-being becomes vital because you have more time to be in touch with it.

One exercise we do now is checking in on our energy, kindness, and patience levels each morning. If we're both at 50%, together we’re at 100%. This helps us through the day instead of being snappy with each other.

Now, purpose will drive your happiness. If you don’t have purpose, you're not going to be happy. Finding purpose is not always easy. We actually want to do a mini-course on how to find your purpose in retirement, as it’s likely you already have it; you just don’t know it yet.

We also need to discuss financial planning. Staying on top of your finances is critical, especially as you transition to de-accumulating wealth in retirement.

Number eight is downsizing or decluttering. Not everything is a downsizing moment, but taking stock of your current living situation can be liberating. Simplifying is key during this stage of life.

We often hang onto things thinking we might need them later. However, getting rid of clothes and items that aren’t serving you can bring a sense of liberation.

Number nine is about education or lifelong learning. Becoming a lifelong learner is incredibly important—I believe you shouldn’t miss out on new hobbies or interests that fill your day.

This leads us to number ten—unexpected opportunities can bring joy. Trying new hobbies, like taking up golf, can be exciting and a wonderful way to fill your time. We're here to encourage you to be open to trying new things that you might truly enjoy.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this video. This next one, 13 retirement mistakes that can absolutely ruin your retirement. Watch this one next.