Hi Reader

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for the wonderful and honest feedback that I've received over the last week about the new newsletter format. You never know how change will land, but the positivity towards it has been brilliant to hear

One piece of additional news that I want to bring you is that going forward, I will be publishing my monthly long-form retirement articles on Substack. Click the link below to see my latest one, it’s called The 4 C's of a Fulfilling Retirement. And whilst you're there, make sure you hit subscribe so these drop into your inbox every month

​The Four C's of a Fulfilling Retirement​

THIS WEEKS SUBJECT IS...

WHAT I'VE NOTICED

Something I've noticed a hell of a lot lately, both in my social life and retirement work, is how often people apologise for how they feel.

They don’t say it directly.
It’s more subtle than that.

People say stuff like…

And then they describe feeling unsettled, restless, flat, or vaguely disoriented.

Almost as if they’re confessing to a character flaw.

Which is strange, when you think about it.

WHAT I THINK IS REALLY GOING ON

Somewhere along the line, we have somehow come to believe that gratitude cancels out discomfort.

That if you’ve planned well, worked hard, and reached the second half of your life, you should feel calm, content, and quietly satisfied, and if you don’t, you’re doing something wrong.

But that’s just not how change works.

You can be grateful and unsettled.
Relieved and unsure.
Proud of what you’ve built and slightly lost about what comes next.

Those things are not opposites.
They’re happening at the same time.

What often gets labelled as “I should be more grateful” is actually the nervous system adjusting to a big shift like the loss of structure, identity, momentum, and external validation that work provided for decades.

And no one really talks about that bit.

So instead, people judge themselves.

They try to think their way out of it.
They keep busy.
They tell themselves they shouldn’t feel this way.

Which usually just adds a second layer of pressure on top of the first.

IF YOU WANT TO GO DEEPER

My latest video is called ‘Your Brain Wasn't Built For Retirement (Here's Why)’

My goal is to let you know that your brain will naturally fight this phase of life. It will make you try and feel guilty for feeling grateful, which, by itself, is a very strange concept to get your head around!

So, therefore, armed with this information, you can let your brain do its worst, rewire it and get on with living your best life possible

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A QUESTION WORTH SITTING WITH