The Spicier Road To Retirement

Getting old(er) ain't for sissies. Upon entering one's fifties-and beyond-we begin to realize that there is more time behind us than ahead The Punisher us. that stark realization colors the spectacles (or contacts) through which we view our world. It can be time of gray Chocolate Gift or rainbow delight. You choose the "D" word and in the process you choose your quality of life. Luckily, you can re-apply the same skills Lava Lamps in making a career change when you want to find sugar and spice in the Third Age or in retirement. When successfully implemented I call that process Gourmet Aging.

People in denial say things like, "I can work just as hard as I ever could," or, "I can be as young as I think I am," or "I'm injecting botulism in my skin to improve my self-image." Alternately, people who accept the aging process realize that the body takes longer to recover whether from injury, gardening, or emotional trauma. It takes a lot longer to walk up the hilly trail than when you were in your 30s. People who can accept gray in their hair or their life, a midlife body shape, and awareness of new limits are people who can accept who they are. Acceptance is a huge issue for baby-boomers who are now having to contemplate a new group title such as elder-boomers.

You choose: denial or delight.

Finding delight in later years is no different than finding it in earlier times. Again one faces similar questions such as, "What do I want to do, NOW that I'm grown up-perhaps retired or facing retirement?" Like the movie The Graduate, the answer is not as simple as "plastics" in the 60s or "dot coms" in the 90s. And like the graduate, your task as a member of the Third Age is to find what you want to do that will make you happy. In other words, we again face a career decision, but that time the word "career" takes on expanded meaning, where our work can include hobby work, part time paid employment or entreprenuerial projects, volunteer work, learning roles, or soul work.

What has changed is the sense of time and self. One realizes that age is not as important as the stage one is in. The Third Age is a time of great reflection and also creativity. Knowing there is less time before you than behind you means you have enough life experience to know what is really important to you, what makes you feel fulfilled. You just have to sort it out and prioritize-like when you changed careers the last time. A few brief examples follow.

Bob is a workaholic who had a mild heart attack and in recovery awoke to the realization that all his hard work has left him with a sense of emptiness. He now wants to stop racing the rats, bail out, and try ambling in the slow lane. Bob decided to enroll in Elderhostel to make new friends and discover a new rhythm. He wants to enroll in a wood carving class and try bicycling more and using a computer less. Bob choose the path of leisure wellness.

Beth is also a workaholic but she takes a decidely different approach. She loves being active. Not working for her is a prescription for disease of mind and spirit. She loves a full schedule and she therefore chooses upon retirement to do consulting for fee as well as a becoming a mentor in her field via professional organizations. that time out, Beth carefully chooses the work she wants, unconcerned with advancement and recognition (she's had plenty of that).

Miguel lost his wife to breast cancer. Now he is re-engineering his life as a single person and in the process he has faced into the big questions buy Viagra meaning and self. He discovered that he enjoys going on silent retreats where he meditates in the prescence of others. To remain connected, he joined a book club and is taking classes on spiritual issues. He recently read From Age-ing To Sage-ing and his headed for a new role, a new definition of himself in his later years.

Luellen misses not being needed at home and at the public school where she worked for 20 years. Her realizes that her greatest source of pleasure comes when working for others as a volunteer. She completely lives by the words of Churchil who observed, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Luellen participates in her univeristy union as a mentor, volunteers for the local literacy group, and has finds her new work in the local hospice to be increasingly important.

Gerald is a self-made man. When none of his offspring wanted to take over the family business he was devastated. But he read about how how other proprietors made the Lonely? Try searching for somebody nice. and found abundance in life in the short booklet New Rules for Life After Family Business. Now he wants to take time for all the books he never had a chance to read. He is joining the online chataqua round table. Though Gerald never was much of a student before, he now becomes energize when he embarks on a learning project. He sees himself as a life-long learner. Having recently discovered that he loves digital photography he has plunged into his own study of Photoshop.

Bob, Beth, Miguel, Luellen, and Gerald have all discovered how to redefine their worklife. Each found their way in a different route. These five people found a pathway to to "Gourmet Aging". But not everyone finds their way so handily. How many others fail in that journey? It was once reported that people who retire without a plan in later life receive on average only 13 social security checks before passing on.

Sadly, our current society does little to help 'graduates from the work world" in the same way we help graduates from school. More than ever, we need to put in place career centers, support groups, or classes which assist one in make the most important transition of all.

You can find your way on your own if you are willing to re-deploy the same passion, planning, and persistence you used before when changing careers or looking for work. on your own. I believe that finding a route to Gourmet Aging need not be a complicated, and in fact, it can be downright adventuresome. You simply borrow from proven models for adult and career development.

You begin by taking time to conduct a self-assessment. Just as there inventories for paid jobs, there are now inventories or assessment tools to help you assess leisure and volunteer interests. With some initial idea of your new direction in place, it is time to step out and learn more about your new destination and the opportunities that lie nearby.

Suppose you wanted to use digital photography for fun or profit. You'd begin by enrolling in a class online or in person, perhaps reading a book or two, and/or just plain experimenting with the software. The next step would be to talk with experts. Just as in a job search, it is helpful to network to find the local experts. Nowadays with the Internet the concept of "local" has gone global. Then find a way talk with them, you know, conduct an informational interview. Surely in the process you'll learn about opportunities to learn Photoshop or digital photography in ways you had not imagined. Perhaps the expert will be so inspired by your quest that you'll be offered a chance to apprentice under her or him.

Do you let your career just happen to you? No. Then why should you just let growing your Third Age in life just emerge haphazardly? Aging ain't for sissies, it is for those willing to face into it's difficulties and promoise. Gourmet Aging is for those who want to add life to their years, rather than just years to their life.

Resources
Age-ing To Sage-ing. Zalman Schacter-Shalomi
Don't Stop The Career Clock. Helen Harkness
Gourmet Aging. Martin Kimeldorf
New Rules for Life After Family Business. Dick Haid.

I've been lucky to have many books and articles published, and more recently my images have been distributed online and in print. Along the pathway, I've won awards for teaching, playwriting, essays, and now photography. My teaching experience spans classrooms in prisons, colleges, public schools, and a variety of retreat settings where I conduct workshops.

My current teaching and coaching interests include journaling about photographs, Photoshop & PhotoArt coaching, career portfolios, leisure wellness, and retirement lifestyle planning. I have lived in Tumwater, Washington for almost 30 years. My wife Judy and dog Franky really enjoy the Pacific Northwest.