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Marcia Smalley is a Certified Professional Retirement and life coach, author, and facilitator. For more than a decade, she has coached women as they navigate retirement and other life transitions, exploring questions of identity, purpose, and possibility. She is the creator of Still Becoming: A Reflective Companion for Life’s Next Season, a card deck designed to encourage reflection and meaningful conversation. Visit her at https//www.marciasmalley.com.

Latest Posts By Marcia Smalley

2 weeks ago

What’s More Important in Retirement – What You Want or What You Need?

Retirement is billed as the time when we finally get to do what we want. No alarm clock. No commute. No calendar filled with meetings we didn’t schedule. After decades of taking care of what needed to be taken care of, we’ve earned some freedom. But there’s an interesting question hiding inside that freedom: Do we know what we want?

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4 months ago

Bored with Everyday Life? 5 Easy and Fun Ideas to Get Your Sparkle Back After 60

Most of us feel grateful. We’ve come far and lived long. Yet all of us are human. So even amidst all that gratitude, we can occasionally feel antsy. Restless. I daresay, bored. Although now in our 60s, we can morph into those blasé children we were when…

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1 year ago

Moving from Retirement Perceptions to Retirement Realities: 3 Tips for an Easier Journey

We’ve seen the brochures. You know the ones – smiling, gray-haired couples are playing tennis, having dinner on a patio, toasting during a midnight sail. Celebrating The Perfect Retirement.  But is the entire retired world lounging at the golf course 24/7?

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1 year ago

3 Reasons Why You Can Stop Setting Goals

I rarely set goals anymore. Not that there’s anything wrong with them. If you want to learn Italian or climb Mt. Everest, you can certainly set goals to do those things. It’s just that the concept of a “goal” feels limiting. What if, by focusing on…

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2 years ago

Out with the Old! 5 Things Every Woman Should Throw Away This Spring (and 5 Things to Keep)

Yes, your cabinets or closets may need a good purging. But spring is also good time to throw away some things that don’t require a trip to Goodwill. I know you’re chomping at the bit to dig through your cupboards. But how about sorting through your clutter within, too?

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2 years ago

Is Keeping Busy the Secret to a Happy Retirement?

During our work lives we put a lot of emphasis on productivity. We’re evaluated according to how much we accomplish. That spills into other aspects of life, because we live in a culture that values getting things done, momentum, progress…

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2 years ago

What Color Is Your Retirement Parachute? Thoughtful Reflection Will Make The Journey Easier

By 2014, I was ready to move on from my demanding school counseling career. Since they called that “retirement,” retiring was the end game. Although I was anxious to cut that career cord, my husband and I weren’t ready for me to retire…

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2 years ago

3 Ways Retirement Can Take You by Surprise

Every life transition has both peaks and valleys. We become excited about new possibilities, yet we can’t avoid the shadows. Transitioning into retirement isn’t any different. It’s a glorious and fun-filled time of life. And it has a darker side…

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2 years ago

4 Ways to Release Your Inner Artist in Your 60s

I never used to think of myself as creative. Artists are creative, and artists paint. I can’t even draw. But as a child I loved to “play pretend.” I had imaginary friends and few real ones who’d make up stories with me. In 4th grade, a couple of…

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2 years ago

4 Ways to Navigate the Honeymoon Phase of Retirement

I’ve heard it called The Honeymoon Phase. If you’ve chosen to work less or have left your work life behind altogether, you might recognize it. ‘It’ is that first stage of retirement that can last a few months or a few years. It’s that early period when we revel…

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