Many people approaching retirement will be filled with joy at the thought of never working again but there are many others who will find the transition very difficult and will be looking for ways how to stop feeling lost after retirement.

woman sitting crossed leg with cup of tea

Retirement is often seen as being a time in life when you can start to kick back, slow down and take your golden years easy. If you have worked full-time until your retirement, the thought of being able to do what you like when you like can be liberating, to say the least.

Why then do many people struggle when they retire and find it a difficult transition?

Retirement can come with many new adjustments to life, and this is where some can find themselves feeling lost as they start to negotiate this new chapter.

January 1st….must start the new year off with a whole list of resolutions that I am going to achieve this year. January 8th…..well seem to be back to my old ways and have broken all of my resolutions already! Have you heard this before? Are you guilty of this? If so you aren’t alone, in fact, research has shown that only 9% of people see their resolutions through until the end of the year.

stationary goals journal

Why is it that we pick possibly the most depressing time of the year to set new goals and resolutions for ourselves, in the northern hemisphere anyway? Why do we find it so difficult? Shouldn’t we be given a manual on how to set goals and accomplish them?

Coping with life can seem overwhelming at times. No matter how old or what our circumstances are, we can all find moments when we feel out of control in our lives.

Although we live in an age where we have many time-saving devices and technology to hand, more money and free time and better living conditions than in any period in history, we can still feel that we have too much to do, are burdened down and are unable to control many situations in our lives.

When situations are out of your control or can lead to a build-up of stress and anxiety, it can affect everything from your relationships with yourself family and friends to your jobs and social lives.

You can also feel overwhelmed by the pressures of the world and find that life can at times be daunting.

Are you one of the many people feeling lost in your 50s? Unsure of what has happened in your life thus far and not knowing where you are going or what you want to be doing as you get older? Do you feel that the spark has gone from your life, you’re not sure when it went out or how to get it back.

If you have heard about The U-shape Happiness Curve then you may be approaching your 50s with some trepidation or you may be in them already and thinking…is this life? The U-shape Happiness curve proposes that by the time we reach middle age - roughly our 50s now, we will be in a slump, at the bottom of the U and at our unhappiest, before we start to rise again in our 60s.