Baby Boomer

Are you a Baby Boomer? If you answered "yes," chances are that you are staring a life transition in the face. Is that face scary or serene? To some degree, that's up to you.
Taking the time to think about things before they happen and then preparing for what might be is the most important step you can take to navigate through life. When you have a plan, you feel like you are in control. And, we all know that the root of most stress is feeling like we are out of control. It's the unknown that does us in. When we know what we are dealing with, or have thought about "What happens if ..." then we feel like we're in charge. We know we should prepare, and we know we can prepare, but we tend to procrastinate and avoid preparing. So, right now, today, make a commitment to yourself. Commit to preparing your own Transition Plan. And then commit to pulling it out, dusting it off, and making the necessary changes on an annual basis.
Where to begin? Start by making a list of every possible transition you can think of, even if you think it will never be relevant to you. Once you have that long list, it will be time to eliminate those that are not relevant to your life at this time (e.g., if you are not married or in a committed relationship, you're not likely to get divorced or become a widow). For each remaining transition, you will need to ask and answer many questions. Here are a few to get you started:
What scares me about this possible transition? Why?
What's the worst thing I can imagine if this happens to me?
What if the opposite were true?
How would my 80-year old self advise me?
Make notes, and plan to come back and look at them in a few days or a few weeks. Building a Transition Plan is not something you can accomplish in one sitting. Once you have fully explored your thoughts and feelings about each of the possible life transitions, you are ready to formulate your plan.Your Transition Plan should contain the following elements:
Definition of possible transitions
Assessment of fears about the transition
Specific steps that you can take to plan ahead or prepare for the possible transition, and an assessment of the positive that will come from doing so
A timeline for getting these steps accomplished
A commitment and method for keeping your plan up to date