It isn't all about weight loss and exercise, though they are familiar examples.  The personal growth process extends into all aspects of our lives: health and happiness, roles and relationships; work and retirement; time, energy and stress. Let's use the example of transition surrounding retirement from a long-term career.  Our heroine is a composite of real people I have known.  Let's call her Sally.

Sally has been working at a job she loves for more than 30 years.  She recently became eligible to retire, and has decided to pull the plug.  She worked her way through that decision with some difficulty.  She was tired of the same old politics, bureaucracy, and irritating coworkers.  She longed to linger over a cup of morning coffee, then take a long walk with the dog.  On the other hand, she was good at her work and found it satisfying.  Despite the rough edges, she worked with good people who cared for each other.  She wondered how she and hubby would deal with being home together all the time.

Over the past year, Sally has worked through her ambivalence and passed the tipping point.  She wants to retire, has announced it to the world, and set a date. Precontemplation, check.  Contemplation, check.  Time for action.  Not quite. For some people, waking up retired comes easily.  They have been preparing mentally and practically for a long time.  Others, like Sally, wait until they confront it eye-to-eye.  She pulled out a workbook from the latest retirement seminar and identified some key steps to take before the big day arrived.

She had always celebrated milestones with travel, and wanted to do so again.  She had planned the date around the travel seasons in New Zealand.  Planning that trip was at the top of her list.  She started bookmarking online resources.

She had never paid much attention to investments, taking advantage of payroll deduction and standard retirement plans through work.  Now she would be managing her own funds.  She made an appointment with a financial planner recommended by her friends.

She had always wanted to take some classes beyond her college major.  She signed up for the mailing list of an "over-55" program at the local university.

Finally, she initiated a conversation with her husband on expectations they each had for this next stage of their lives.  How did they see the mix of alone and together time?  Shared and individual interests?  His friends, hers, and theirs? How would they accommodate any differences in those expectations?

The list was long, and many items could wait for later.  However, she identified a handful of priorities for the months that remained.

The stage of preparation is highly personal.  We all fit somewhere along a spectrum between those who love to plan and those who take it as it comes.  Most of us fall somewhere in the middle; we do well to anticipate the challenges that come with change and take steps to design our path accordingly  

And, oh yes, now we can go!