What are you going to do when you retire?
Whether you are contemplating retirement in the next year or in the next 10-20 years, I encourage you to start planning now on how you will stay connected and give back.
Everyone defines retirement a bit differently. For me, when I announced my retirement a few years ago, everyone I worked with and in the industry asked:
“No really, what are you going to do?”
Or
“Are you going to start up a consulting firm?”
And
“Seriously, who are you going to work for?”
I was fortunate to retire of my own decision and on my own timeline and early enough in life that, yes, I do have plans to continue doing something. But what is that something?
So many “older” people (defined as 55-plus) hear this frequent question in the workplace: “When are you going to retire?” When asked that question, it’s easy to have a sense of self-doubt like “Do they think I need to retire?” or “Are they trying to push me out?” The reality is that as we all get older, the people we work with most likely just want to know what our plans are so they can prepare for these plans. We “older” people have such tacit knowledge and experience to offer. When we retire (by the way… 10,000 people turn 65 every day and by 2030 all baby boomers will be over 65.) we will leave a gaping hole of knowledge and experience.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. When I retired, I had a goal to find a way to stay connected and give back to this amazing electrical industry that has meant so much to me and my family. I found mentoring as that path. Through speaking engagements, workshops and mentoring programs, I inform, inspire and empower individuals and organizations to capitalize on the value of mentoring.
I’m fortunate to be able to do what I love….something that I’m passionate about…and to see the impact I’m making is the ultimate reward. Of course, I have to balance this “work” with actually being retired. As my husband says, I’m “the busiest retired person” he knows. And that works for me!
Whether you are contemplating retirement in the next year or in the next 10-20 years, I encourage you to start planning now on how you will stay connected and give back.
One way is to be a mentor in one of my mentoring programs. If you’re interested, shoot me an email KJVan777@gmail.com. Or if you just want to chat about other ideas, let’s chat.
Always remember “it’s better to give than to receive”
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash