To achieve a fulfilling retirement, consider asking yourself one crucial question.

We spent a decade interviewing individuals to understand the psychological, relational, and life restructuring challenges of retirement and how to effectively manage them.

Identity issues can be significant for individuals, particularly during the early stages of retirement when they must make the decision about when and how to depart and psychologically detach from their careers.

Those who closely identify with their work may find these concerns particularly challenging.

DON'T MISS: The ultimate guide to negotiating a higher salary

Before retiring, it's important to consider if you have enough savings to support your desired lifestyle.

Without my work, who will I be?

Here is my best advice on how to answer this for yourself.

Is work more of an action or a defining characteristic of your identity?

Identity issues can blindside even those who don't believe they have closely identified with their work throughout their careers.

Irene, one of our 120 subjects, enjoyed her job in the tech world, respected her company, and valued her team. Despite this, she never allowed her work to define her. It took her four years to finally make the decision to officially retire.

After considering the question "Why don't you retire?", she replied, "Respect may decrease after retirement."

She had underestimated the importance of her identity as a successful career woman until now.

What can you do if you cannot fully determine your identity without your job?

1. What is your honest answer to the question: "Would I be more likely to say that my work is what I do or my work is who I am?" If your job feels like who you are, it could hinder your transition to retirement.
2. Please list your core self-identities, along with your most salient needs, values, goals, and preferences — as they currently are, and as you imagine (or wish) them to be in the foreseeable future.

What aspects of your pre-retirement self would you like to carry over into your retirement life? This is known as "identity bridging."

How to bridge the identity gap between work and retirement

Victor, a retired company executive, found fulfillment as a leader in his church after leaving his corporate office.

After retiring from his consulting firm partnership, Jay admitted that his job had become his identity. Throughout his career, he had lost sight of or never discovered who he truly was.

His big retirement project was attaining a new comprehension or revelation.

Jay resurrected an old identity as a "hot rodder," rekindling his passion for customizing and racing cars, participating in rallies, and bonding with the community.

Jay bought a hot rod and began customizing it after reducing his work commitment to half-time for six months. This was an important step for him to discover his true self without work as a major context in his life.

After retiring, Irene and her still-working husband moved to their vacation home on Cape Cod and oversaw its renovation. Soon after, she joined an ocean conservation group and became active in many water-oriented activities. As a result, she developed a new post-retirement identity: "ocean person."

As you contemplate retirement, reflect on your professional self and which aspects of your career you'd like to carry with you. Additionally, consider which parts you'd like to leave behind. Afterward, let your imagination run wild and envision the new identities you may want to explore in this new phase of your life.

If you can honestly rewrite the input sentence into an alternative version while keeping the same sentence length, you're more likely to find a satisfying retirement on the other side.

Teresa M. Amabile, a retired professor at Harvard Business School, received her Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University and co-authored "Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You."

Earn more money at work by taking CNBC's new online course on negotiating a higher salary. Expert instructors will teach you the necessary skills to increase your paycheck, including how to prepare and build confidence, what to say and do, and how to craft a counteroffer. Sign up now and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for a 50% discount through Nov. 26, 2024.

Rewritten: "Retirement is a time for individuals to reevaluate their goals and pursue new interests."