{"id":508595,"date":"2026-05-29T11:40:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/508595\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T11:40:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:40:27","slug":"want-to-retire-early-heres-how-to-prepare-and-find-purpose-in-your-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/508595\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to retire early? Here’s how to prepare and find purpose in your retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Statia O\u2019Carroll always planned to retire at 60. But having recently reached that milestone, the former HR professional from Kilkenny now says she \u201cno longer has a career end date in sight\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in my mid-50s when I took a redundancy package from my HR job in 2021 and realised then that I wasn\u2019t ready for retirement,\u201d she says. \u201cI loved the social interaction of work and knew I still wanted to use my skills. One day, after helping a friend\u2019s son prepare for an upcoming job interview, I was buzzing and thought to myself: \u2018I should do more of this.\u2019 So I launched ocarrollcareers.com<\/a>, and who I am and what I do now is nothing like the retired 60-year-old I had imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a 2022 report by Retirement Life, approximately 1,000 people retire in Ireland every week. Many welcome this end to their working lives. But there are others, like O\u2019Carroll, who don\u2019t enjoy the change of pace and struggle to find purpose in a life devoid of deadlines and weekly targets.<\/p>\n

The CEO of the Retirement Planning Council of Ireland, Laura Farrell, says many people, especially high achievers, find retirement challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork can provide more than just income,\u201d she says. \u201cIt gives structure, identity, social contact, status, routine and a sense of being needed and having real purpose. When it stops, it can leave a significant gap, particularly for people who have been committed to their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Dean McDonnell, a lecturer in psychology at South East Technological University and a member of the Psychological Society of Ireland, points to the major psychological shift retirement presents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the last big transitions in life and in many ways can be seen as a second adolescence. In retirement, we often ask ourselves the same question we asked in adolescence: Who am I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Dean McDonnell: Learn new skills to keep your brain active after retirement.<\/p>\n

Because we spend so much time at work, our careers can become what McDonnell calls \u201can indicator of our identity\u201d, adding that what we do becomes interwoven with who we are. \u201cAnd the more invested we are in our work, the more we can conflate our professional achievements and productivity with our self-worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some can experience retirement as a loss. \u201cWe lose the structure that work provided and may not know what to do with our free time,\u201d says McDonnell. \u201cWe\u2019re no longer interacting with colleagues, customers or clients, so we lose those social connections and may experience loneliness and isolation as a result. We may also question our sense of purpose. This combination creates ample grounds for anxiety or depression to take hold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research shows the detrimental impact that retirement can have, especially for people who aren\u2019t ready to step away from their working lives. A 2016 study<\/a> based on data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) found that individuals who retired when they didn\u2019t want to were more likely than others to develop symptoms of depression.<\/p>\n

McDonnell recommends proactive planning for those who worry about the end of their working lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not just talking about pension planning, but about psychological planning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake some time to think about the following questions: What gives you meaning outside of work? What relationships do you want to invest in? What interests have you neglected? And what kind of life rhythm suits you? The answers to these questions will give you a clearer idea of how you\u2019d like to use the time and freedom retirement can offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farrell adds a top tip: \u201cAsk yourself what you were passionate about before \u2018life\u2019 got too busy for you to do it anymore or what you have always wanted to do but never had the time or headspace to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t think that you have to have it all figured out in advance. \u201cThe happiest retirees tend to be those who give themselves permission to explore and adapt in creating this new chapter,\u201d says Farrell. \u201cSo have a go. And don\u2019t wait until the first Monday after work ends to start experimenting. Start before retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

This experimentation might involve taking up a new hobby or learning new skills, both of which Farrell recommends. \u201cTaking a class or learning a new sport, language or musical instrument can be rewarding and valuable in terms of giving you stimulation and a sense of progress,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

McDonnell points out that practising new hobbies and learning new skills also help maintain neuroplasticity and mental sharpness.<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cThe workplace offers ongoing opportunities for learning, with changes in technology and having to adapt to new systems and challenges. We no longer have those opportunities in retirement but our brain still needs them in order to continue developing. So we should seek them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stay busy and connected<\/p>\n

When deciding what skills to learn or activities to try, Farrell urges us to \u201cbear in mind that social connection is important\u201d. Research, including studies carried out by TILDA<\/a>, indicates that maintaining social groups after retirement is associated with better quality of life as we age.<\/p>\n

\"LauraLaura Farrell: Experiment with new possibilities long before you retire.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I tell people not to think only in terms of activities or hobbies but in terms of belonging to clubs, classes, choirs and community organisations,\u201d says Farrell.<\/p>\n

The events and activities organised by these groups can also provide structure to our days. McDonnell says, \u201cOur brain likes knowing what it can expect to happen next. Having a routine helps the brain organise and process information, and if we don\u2019t have a routine, our brain can feel uncertain and anxious about what to do with so much freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farrell has found that high achievers often enjoy becoming coaches or mentors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis allows them to carry their experience and expertise forward in a meaningful way,\u201d she says. \u201cThey get to remain useful, connected and purposeful while letting go of the responsibility and pressure of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteering is another way to use professional skills in a new context and can provide a sense of purpose in life. \u201cThat\u2019s as long as it\u2019s chosen carefully to fit with your values and interests, rather than simply filling time,\u201d says Farrell.<\/p>\n

She reminds current and prospective retirees that retirement \u201cshould be about finding a new rhythm of life that works for you. It can include regular exercise, social contact, family time, volunteering and personal projects. But don\u2019t forget to make time for rest. You no longer have to be the \u2018optimally on\u2019 version of you that you were at work. Retirement is a time of life when you are allowed to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Carroll has begun to establish a new rhythm of her own as she approaches the age at which people traditionally retire.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, I fitted my life around my work, but now, it\u2019s the other way around,\u201d she says. \u201cMy week is a mix of work and living. I help clients prepare for job interviews and make informed career decisions, while also making time for my Fit4Life running sessions, weekly park runs, yoga, Network Ireland Kilkenny, travel, and time with family and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis combination keeps my mind active, provides income and gives me a strong sense of purpose. At this stage of life, I have choices, and my choice is to design a life that challenges me and keeps me connected.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Statia O\u2019Carroll always planned to retire at 60. But having recently reached that milestone, the former HR professional…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[177],"tags":[51223,31734,79,18,19,17,234,235],"class_list":["post-508595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-health-life","tag-workplace-wellbeing","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116657679481760310","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}