The Five Parts

Retirement isn't a wall of pillars. It's a windchime.

The non-financial side of your retirement has five parts. They don't stand rigidly — they systemically interact with one another. A change in one brings about changes in the others. Think of them this way: they're more like a windchime or a mobile — dynamic, always moving and changing. Below, they're strung as a Newton's cradle: touch one part, and something on the far side moves.

Tap any part. It swings in — and something on the other side moves. That's the whole idea.

Five parts, one instrument.

Tap any part to see what it covers — and what it sets moving. In coaching we work on the part that's asking loudest, while keeping an eye on everything it touches.

A change in one area is never only about that area. That's not a flaw in the plan — it's how lives work.

How they work systemically together

The order of these chimes is intentional. The Next Chapter is not built from the outside in — it is built from the inside out. Values and beliefs shape thinking, thinking influences behaviors, behaviors impact health and relationships, and all of these together determine how effectively financial resources are used. When the personal chimes are addressed first, money becomes a tool that supports a well-defined life rather than a substitute for one.

Where do you stand? Take the 4-minute reflection → See how coaching works

Why a windchime?

Because nothing in a life stands alone — or falls alone.

The five pillars of retirement wellness: Spiritual, Mental, Physical, Social, Financial — each carrying 20% of the roof — The classic model: five rigid pillars, each holding up 20% of the roof.

The same five pillars with the Spiritual pillar crumbling and cracks spreading through the others — And the story it tells: one pillar cracks, and the rest begin to go.

One model of retirement describes five pillars — and when one pillar cracks, the others collapse with it, and the picture shows the roof coming down. Chris sees it differently: systemically — dynamic and fluid. A change in one brings about changes in the others. A health event ripples into finances. A move ripples into friendships. A spouse's retirement ripples into the rhythm of the whole house. The parts ebb and flow together, the way chimes move in the same breeze.

That's also the good news: improvement ripples too. Rebuild a weekly pace and connection gets easier. Reconnect with people and purpose starts answering questions identity was asking. In coaching we choose the part where a small change moves the most.

Framework informed by Retirement Coaches Association research, reinterpreted systemically by Chris Gomberg, M.Ed., LMFT (California LMFT 16870), CPRC.