I was chatting to a friend recently about my recent festive trip north of the border with the family to spend Christmas with Cassie’s mum and dad.

When I think about this trip I few things spring to mind….

On the positive side the beautiful scenery, the amazing time spent with family, the food, the drink and (as is traditional at Christmas) the number of really bad cracker jokes.

Oh and the chocolate! Way too much chocolate!

On the ‘not so great’ side the impact the chocolate has had on my waistline, the fact that whilst ICY the kids and I were disappointed we didn’t get any snow and the fact that the train journey home which was less like a scene from ‘great railway journeys’ and more like a scene from ‘never ending story’.

However during this chat with my friend I mention that the place we visited in Scotland was Arbroath.

“Ahhh” He said “Arbroath – the home of the Arbroath Smokie“

It’s interesting…

Whilst my perspective on Arbroath is informed by my numerous visits and range of experiences in the town  for my mate the small beautiful historic Arbroath is summed up by one thing…

Fish.

Arbroath isn’t the only place to have a food (or drink) connection which springs to some people’s mind as soon as the place is mentioned…

Newcastle is known for it’s brown ale.

Yorkshire may be known for it’s puddings.

and

Cornwall is well known for the pasty which is graced with it’s name.

However Arbroath, Newcastle, Yorkshire and Cornwall obviously have far more too them than the foods which grace their name.

They have diverse cultures, communities and places to visit.

They have their own unique charms. They’re complicated. They are full of interesting people.

They all share similarities but are ultimately all unique.

 A bit like our individual plans for retirement….

You see whilst retirement might be known for the time in life where we ‘give up work’ there’s way more retirement than that.

However often when you ask some people about retirement it’s clear they’ve not given much thought on their plans beyond ‘giving up work’.

There’s a bunch of reasons why people don’t focus on the complexities of retirement. For some it feels to far away. For many it may be that they feel their goals are too far away. For others they’ve been ‘too busy’ in their lives to focus on their longer term future.

However building a retirement plan which includes all of your goals, hopes in the way that the people of Newcastle, Cornwall, or Arboath have built diverse, wide ranging and supportive communities.

You see Cornwall is way more than the pasty. Arbroath is way more than the “Arbroath smokie”

and

Your retirement is way more than “the period of time you give up work”.

It’s the opportunity to spend time doing the stuff you love.

It’s a chance to learn skills you’ve never found time to learn before.

Increasingly it’s an opportunity to continue to work in your chosen occupation or to work in the job you’ve always dreamed of.

So if you’ve not started planning for your retirement, and regardless of your age but with more focused if your retirement is fast approaching, start considering how you’re going to spend that time now to make sure it’s filled with fantastic enjoyable experiences.

Don’t treat your retirement as just “the time you give up work” but the time when you’ve established clear plans to spend your time in the most meaningful way possible.

Or work with a professional who can help guide you to achieve the life you desire.

If you need any help clarifying your hopes, dreams and aspirations in retirement feel free to contact us on (insert contact details here)