#55 Retirement Headspace with Gayle McKew

I am not necessarily a financial planner.

There have been days when I've done no financial planning.

I've done emotional counselling, employment counselling, relationship counselling and this is what the impact will be if you go and get a divorce.

Financial planning is very emotive.

So interesting, Gayle.

Gayle, would you say a loss of job title in relation to creating emotional stress is a thing?

It can be for some people, simply because it's not so much the title, it's the identification with someone.

being a such and such.

I wear a lot of

hats.

I'm a mom, I'm a grandma, I'm a cranky cow some days, I'm a financial planner.

There's all these other things that I do.

And I was talking to my mom about the different roles we have in our lives.

And she went, what do you mean? And I went, well, if you only identify with one thing and that's taken away from you, where do you stand? I'm going to use a client who was like that and literally they were really unwell and we were having conversations and I said to them, look, I think it would be worth your while to consider maybe reducing your hours from five days a week down to four days a week or something that will help you manage your well-being.

Or go to work five days a week if you need it emotionally, but do half days or three-quarter days.

They dug their heels in, told me off in no uncertain terms and continued to do overtime because that was where their identity was in their role.

So what you're really hoping then is that some people come to retirement being well-rounded.

That would be ideal.

Invariably, we don't all come to retirement well-rounded.

I'm one of those people, I've had my peers, as in age peers, say to me, so when are you retiring? And I went, To be honest, I don't know that I ever really will because I am not the sort of person that's nice when I'm bored.

So I love to be mentally stimulated.

If I'm not mentally stimulated, that means that everyone around me sort of cops some degree of pushback from me.

Or I get on about five committees.

I've done both.

Gail, I'm curious.

I am not necessarily a financial planner.

There have been days when I've done no financial planning.

I've done emotional counselling, employment counselling, relationship counselling and this is what the impact will be if you go and get a divorce.

Financial planning is very emotive.

So interesting, Gayle.

Gayle, would you say a loss of job title in relation to creating emotional stress is a thing?

It can be for some people, simply because it's not so much the title, it's the identification with someone.

being a such and such.

I wear a lot of

hats.

I'm a mom, I'm a grandma, I'm a cranky cow some days, I'm a financial planner.

There's all these other things that I do.

And I was talking to my mom about the different roles we have in our lives.

And she went, what do you mean? And I went, well, if you only identify with one thing and that's taken away from you, where do you stand? I'm going to use a client who was like that and literally they were really unwell and we were having conversations and I said to them, look, I think it would be worth your while to consider maybe reducing your hours from five days a week down to four days a week or something that will help you manage your well-being.

Or go to work five days a week if you need it emotionally, but do half days or three-quarter days.

They dug their heels in, told me off in no uncertain terms and continued to do overtime because that was where their identity was in their role.

So what you're really hoping then is that some people come to retirement being well-rounded.

That would be ideal.

Invariably, we don't all come to retirement well-rounded.

I'm one of those people, I've had my peers, as in age peers, say to me, so when are you retiring? And I went, To be honest, I don't know that I ever really will because I am not the sort of person that's nice when I'm bored.

So I love to be mentally stimulated.

If I'm not mentally stimulated, that means that everyone around me sort of cops some degree of pushback from me.

Or I get on about five committees.

I've done both.

Gail, I'm curious.