What will you be when you grow up?
The Paradigm of Retirement
As a 45 year old, there is this idea that has been circling in my mind more often as of late. And that's this idea of retirement.
I am present to the reality that the gap between me and my future self is much closer than the one with my younger self.
Still I feel like it's so far away and I still have so much I want to do with my life. We are so busy sorting through and making sense of the immediate and the urgent that we can easily forget about the future.
We still have time, we say to ourselves. Until we don't.
When that future becomes a very real destination on the horizon line, then what? I can only paint the parallels to my younger self moving through life to meet his future life milestones and experiencing a feeling of being woefully unprepared when he arrived.
But what I am referring to is less related to finances than it is to focus.
I am here to realize something into this world.
And I would make the bold claim to say that you are too.
There is a unique position those staring this idea of retirement in face have that so many of us don't. And that is one of opportunity to finally do what it is that your younger self was either not ready, not willing or lacked the capacity to do.
The question "What will I do when I grow up?" is not a fantastical aspirational statement only available to middle schoolers who have no sense of what anything takes.
No I think this question is a vital point of recalibration we get to ask ourselves when we're finally in a position to actually do something about it.
You are about the enter a potential future free of the obligations that society and industry put on your shoulders that committed to carry as a necessary responsibility to function in this world.
Your Finances Might Be in Order, But is Your Wellth?
I'm sure by now you've heard of IKIGAI. This is where the intersections of vocation, profession, mission and passion reveal meaning and purpose.
Like most things, these sort of ideas tend to get over intellectualized to the point that it creates the potential to do more harm than good.
I am learning that this is something that really only becomes clear over time.
I think this paints the optimal picture of living the life you were meant to live.
So while you might have a succession plan, I can't help but wonder if you have a plan for living? Have you created a playbook for your future life that is a wholistic picture of who you will be and what you will do?
One of the biggest regrets of the retiring professional is one of wishing they had a clearer purpose.
Retirement is an outdated paradigm
It was born out of an era that declared that a human's best work was done before they were forty years old and that by sixty there were to retire to make way for the new more effective workers.
First let me say, if your idea of retiring is an itinerary of RV trips, Golf courses and warm destinations, have at 'er. But I suspect that even that is only enjoyed for so long. We're not meant to travel aimlessly. We seek meaning in our moves.
I do believe there will come a time where I will be ready for a much calmer, slower and quieter existence. But that future is still way too far out for me to see clearly.
Who I am talking to right now are the ones who feel like they still have a lot more to give to their industry, to society and to the world. And I am here to tell you, I agree.
Creative curiosity is calling. Will you answer?
We have within us our own fountain of youth. It is our ideas, our creativity and our outrageous tenacity to turn those ideas into something that others can experience, interact with and learn from.
You have a lifetime of insights and perspectives that is waiting to be unleashed into the world for one reason and one reason alone.
Because you say so.
This chapter of your life is about building your body of work. It is about riffing about the past, present and future, roaming beyond the barriers and beliefs that we would not have noticed before and rallying our efforts to realize them into existence.
This is the game to play.
Which by the way, you could also do while enjoying that cross country road trip.
PAST PODCAST
How will you navigate the war of making difficult decisions in the midst of a life that is proceeding forward with or without you? This is a call to arms.
Listening time: 5 minutes
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As a certified creativity, business and life coach I am here to guide senior professionals navigating career transitions or retirement.
Those that find themselves at a crossroads, uncertain about the next chapter but definitely not ready to abandon their passions and talents.
Together we will harness your creative potential, opening doors to self-discovery and expression. Whether it's uncovering hidden talents reigniting old passions or exploring entirely new ventures.
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