No one else will experience retirement exactly as you will. Just as important as the disciplined financial preparations you make will be examining your inner self. And, as with starting early on a financial strategy, don't wait until your retirement party before thinking about how you will react to the life changes in retirement. If you have prepared financially and mentally for retirement before it actually arrives, you can embrace the it actually arrives, you can embrace the retirement period of your life as a time to continue to explore your talents and interests.