Life’s Transitions Are Easier With a Well-Rounded Ending: Study

Life’s Transitions Are Easier With a Well-Rounded Ending: Study

It makes you think more clearly, which helps you activate your wishes in the next phase.

Change can be difficult. It’s nice to have the extra time once you retire. Adjusting to a new role isn’t always comfortable or easy, though. In a similar vein, having kids grow up and leave home can present smoother times, but feelings of loss are also natural to have .

Having a plan in place to navigate these transitions can help. Researchers from New York University say that producing a well-rounded ending before moving on can also be of benefit.

“Starting a new life phase in a positive and constructive way is often challenging,” said Gabriele Oettingen, a professor in New York University’s Department of Psychology and the senior author of a new study.

“We observed that how people end their previous life periods makes a difference. In fact, the more people feel that they have done everything they could have done, that they have completed something to the fullest, and that all loose ends are tied up, the happier they are later on, the less they are plagued by regrets, and the more constructively they enter the next life phase,” she explained.

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Interestingly, part of the study involved two strangers having a conversation on the phone. In one group, participants were given a 2 minute warning that the conversation was going to end. They had the chance to round things off before parting.

The other group was cut off abruptly without warning.

Those participants who were given the instructions on a well-rounded ending significantly excelled in a subsequent test. It measured executive function skills, including selective attention and cognitive flexibility. These participants performed significantly higher than the other subjects.

So, if you’re having hard time moving on, know that it’s not entirely your fault. For tips on retiring happily, click here.

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