Retirement means more time with Bettina.

“Well, the day has finally come, Today I left my post with HQ 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team and formally retired. It has been a super experience.

A 24-year career with the Army followed by a second career in social care, supporting adults with a learning disability which lasted for 28 years. The highlight was 15 years as the Managing Director of Dosh (Financial Advocacy) Ltd www.dosh.org  

Last year I had the opportunity of returning to the Army where I got to work with some amazing people. I am one lucky chap.

Picture HQ 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team. From work coffee mug to gardening coffee mug with Joyce (my wife, coach, and mentor).” (LinkedIn 28 February 2025).

What prompted me to write this article was an email I received from a valued former colleague: “you need to tell me all about retirement – It is something I am considering! “

My motivation for retirement was Bettina aka ‘B,’ having a seizure and I was not there to help ‘B’ and support Joyce, my wife. As much as I enjoyed working with my military colleagues and being part of something special, I wanted to be there for Bettina’s next seizure.

What Retirement looks like for me, or one thing leads to another?

  • Stepping up and taking some of the load from Joyce with our caring responsibilities for Bettina and the housework. It is super important to me that Joyce feels the benefits of retirement too. (My retirement present from Joyce is a new hoover).
  • Running 4 x sessions a week. My long-term goal is to be the fastest 70-year-old in Colchester over 5KM.
  • Writing articles on www.leadershipintheraw.org  weekly leadership & wellbeing newsletters and a monthly leadership publication which I share with my network, and on social media platforms (which Joyce regularly tells me I spend far too much time on!).
  • Weekly day out with Joyce, tomorrow is Frinton on sea (Essex, UK).

a post-retirement trip to Frinton on Sea (Essex UK)

  • “Gregging it” is now a thing! Having a Breakfast Bap and a coffee at Greggs. It happens on a Friday morning before Joyce and me do the weekly food shop.

Related:   https://leadershipintheraw.org/2024/06/14/one-thing-led-to-another/  

Still Contributing and Making a Difference

Retiring does not mean you need to give up ‘work.’  I have found you can still have influence and can still contribute:    

  • Coaching and Mentoring. I feel honoured to be asked to coach and or mentor several former colleagues. This is something I do monthly. It is an opportunity to support people who went the extra mile for me during my careers.
  • Sharing knowledge and experiences I enjoy writing articles about Leadership and the lessons in life I have learned from my youngest daughter Bettina (‘Being Bettina’s Dad series) on my blog.
  • Having a social media presence. This involvement is on a wide range of social media platforms, it enables me to maintain relationships with my previous professional networks, opportunities to promote the organisations I worked for so more people know about the difference they make and keep up to date with important topics I am interested in within Social Care, Defence and Leadership.
  • Contributing and making a difference. Recently I was invited to meet local authority commissioners. They are planning to introduce a new day service for people with disabilities. I was able to contribute with my experiences as both a parent carer and my previous involvement in ‘community support’ for people with a learning disability. I was flattered to be asked.

Related:  https://leadershipintheraw.org/2024/06/14/one-thing-led-to-another/

My top five retirement take aways.

  1. Prepare and Plan not just for now but in the future. I went into retirement with a plan that has aims and objectives. I also set five weekly objectives I want to achieve by the end of the week. They keep me focused and I enjoy the sense of achievement when I have met those priorities.Related:  https://leadershipintheraw.org/2024/12/20/setting-goals-objectives-commitments/

2. Routines and Rituals. What a routine means to me? It stops me from going into ‘free fall’ (feeling that I do not have control) and it stops me from drifting aimlessly throughout my day. How often do we say there are not enough hours in the day to get stuff done? Over time our routines refine and improve our life efficiencies. More on this take away on:  https://leadershipintheraw.org/2024/10/27/the-importance-of-routine/  Set new rituals,  did I mention ‘Gregging It? And on the 28th of each month Joyce and I have a ‘date lunch’ to celebrate retirement, we call it ‘Endex’.

3. Eliminate waste. Now is a suitable time to self-audit. Over time you will have built up a lot of stuff in your home that you no longer need or use. With the additional free time, this is an opportunity to ‘get rid.’  The sense of freedom this feels is worth the effort.

4. Fit and A Healthy Diet Maintaining your fitness and health could be the best investment you can make for yourself and those who are significant in your life. It will help you be more and do more. It is never too late to start.

5. A youthful mindset My father and his generation felt they should fit a societal norm for older people whether it was their outlook on life or even how they dressed. This is no longer the case, you can continue to stay relevant whether you have retired or not. My mantras continue to be ‘look smart – feel smart’ & ‘look the part – feel the part.’  So yes, I am going to continue to buy my clothes from ‘Fatface’ and ‘Crew Clothing.’ 

And if you are not ready for retirement yet and instead you wish to change careers as I did from the Army to Social Care then my personal tips may help you too:  https://leadershipintheraw.org/2018/07/20/transitioning-from-one-career-or-job-to-another/

Source:  Steve Raw www.leadershipintheraw.org