Have you ever been to a party where you do not know anyone and no-one actually asks you what you do? Or, at that party you are introduced as one of the many things you might do and you become that identity for the evening. Being a great runner, or fellow birder, or clay-throwing expert can be fun. You might even play up the role a bit and do things out of character. You can lose yourself in that aspect of yourself for the evening. But, at the end of the evening, you go back to being who you are.
Who and what will you be when you retire?
How will it feel to be introduced as your name only, and not with the identity of what you currently do?
This certainly is an interesting idea to contemplate.
You are a participant in a variety of communities, including your workplace community. Part of the change to not working is giving up your identity of who you were in a formal sense. You are no longer a computer programmer, a nurse, an educator, an administrator. You might continue to identify with the institution or industry you belonged to and participated in so actively over all the many years, but that too will evolve.
The people that you knew so well will also move on. Your department or division will change direction. New, younger people will move in. They will be very pleasant, and convivial, hopefully, but this is their time to do what they need to do to make their life work meaningful. Times change.
Some of you might feel a great loss of identity if you are simply known as a retired person. This can be true especially if your whole life and intellectual pursuits were tied to your profession. If you have been required to quit because of mandatory retirement, you may not want to stop what you were doing.
You may feel a loss of prestige and power, especially if you had a job where you were very influential and powerful. To go from running a large corporation or department to running after your dog might be a shock. Prepare for it.
On the other hand, you may have had a "job" where you earned money, but you felt it was not an important aspect of your life. You may have hated your job and been the type of person who says daily, "I have three years, two months, six days and four hours to retirement". In that case, what you probably feel is relief. Those of you who are happy to see the backside of your company or profession might contemplate a complete change of pace or activities. You may immediately move on from your occupation and never give it a second thought.
Most of you will be somewhere along a continuum of the above two scenarios. You are looking forward to the next phase of your life, but also feeling some sad "goodbyes" to a happy career.
If you truly loved you work you might continue doing it in retirement. You could work part-time, volunteer, or even work in a slightly different way. For example, you might teach a course in a community continuing education department, or start a part-time business. You might also work for a small and progressive company that wants your talent and expertise and does not have mandatory retirement ages.
So, what is the point? The point is, of course, that you can be anyone you want to be. Think about whether you want to be Tina Turner or Whistler's Mother. It is all about attitude.
Ask yourself, "Who am I?" Answer without using your work skills. It is an interesting experience.
Mahara Sinclaire, M.Ed.
© Mahara Sinclaire, 201-
mahara@laughingboomer.com
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Mahara Sinclaire, M. Ed., the Boomer Expert, is the author of the book The Laughing Boomer, due out in 2007 and the Laughing Boomer Workbook: Retire from Work, Gear up for Living. She has presented hundreds of workshops on a variety of topics, writes syndicated columns and presents workshops on retirement planning. Mahara is known for inspiring clients to move forward with their lives. She can be reached by telephone at 604 210 2025 mahara@laughingboomer.com or www.laughingboomer.com.
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