How many changes can you handle at once?

How many changes are going to occur in how many areas of your life as you retire?  Stress experts suggest that too many changes cause Adaptive Stress symptoms.  The cure for this is to keep established routines in other areas of your life so you have some sense of stability. Doing some of your activities in a routine manner allows you to feel grounded. 

Are you going for a huge change in many aspects.  One couple I know, Jane and Jim, are counting the days, eight years from now, when they are selling it all and taking off. Are you going to sell it all – get rid of it all, move on, close shop, so to speak, take off and explore the world?  Pretty radical, but that is just what some do. They are gone. These people like the big decisions first and they figure out the rest. 

Others prefer to take things in a step-by-step, bite-sized fashion, and secure themselves underfoot before they go further. They attend a couple of activities and see if they like them, try a cruise and a tour and gradually figure out how they want to spend their years. They work out things as they go, and after a couple of years have their life figured out.

Which way feels most comfortable for you?

M.