It seems that two people celebrate their sixtieth birthday every second. By 2050 there will be two billion older people on our planet. As the amount of time that we can reasonably hope to stay alive increases, our whole view of ageing is called into question. Although the retirement age has increased considerably since our parents’ generation, we can look forward to a reasonable stretch of time to enjoy after we conclude our working lives.
Many of us look forward to our retirement with mixed feelings. We long for the space and freedom to do all the things we always wanted to do but we fear the loss of identity, purpose and social connectedness that our jobs have given us. It’s an important moment to recognise that retirement is a major transformation that will need time and work in order for us to truly benefit from it in a sustainable way.
This workshop will examine how we can prepare for retirement with enthusiasm by revisiting our sense of purpose and meaning. The values that have sustained us throughout our working life can be re-purposed to inspire our retirement years. Instead of seeing leaving work as a time of loss, we can reach out and embrace the freedom and opportunities opening up for us now that our life is changing. By facing our ageing process with confidence, we can make learn to view our retirement as a new chapter of experimentation and ongoing development.
This workshop consists of talks, video extracts, exercises, sharing and discussion. Participants will receive a PDF workbook with all the main quotes, charts and exercises.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- To look at what worries us about retirement
- To understand what it is we want from retirement
- To approach retirement as an opportunity for growth and development
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- This workshop is for counsellors and therapists working with older clients and for those who wish to explore their own journey towards retirement.
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- This workshop will provide an inspiring perspective of retirement that they can work with when working with clients.
Course Content
Presenter
Maureen is the founding director of Awareness in Action, an organization dedicated supporting people to make sustainable wellbeing part of their lives—through developing clarity, connection and openness.
Drawing on more than thirty years of experience as a professional educator, senior manager in a non-profit organization, an entrepreneur and as an experienced practitioner of Buddhist meditation, she leads Awareness in Action workshops and training programs in the UK and Europe.
Her new book, The Stress Workbook is a groundbreaking effort that brings together the best of modern science and the wisdom of the world’s ancient contemplative traditions into a practical manual for thriving in today’s fast-paced world. Although born in London, UK love took Maureen to Amsterdam, The Netherlands where she lives with her husband.
