Some of us, particularly if we had a professional career, may after retirement find ourselves longing for the power and prestige of our previous work. In short, we need to be noticed. For me as a university professor, it is a question of prestige more than power. Standing in front of the class lecturing or facilitating discussion groups is both challenging and exciting. And, having someone I meet on the street say “Hi professor Anderson.” Is very pleasing. The question is will my former successes get in the way of my retirement adjustment. Will I be able to let go of my previous expectations?
I think that the creation and presentation of my workshops may be a partial way of adjusting to a new life. I will still be on centre stage as I facilitate the workshops. This will help me to reflect on my life and perhaps develop some wisdom about my life process. Even now I reflect on the time I have left, what skills I will be able to bring to the community and appropriate goals for the time I have left.
I developed my first intentional goals in my last year of high school when I decided to go to university and play football. Some of my co-players at the University like Tommy Larscheid and Merlin Olsen expanded their sports goals from university and became famous professionals with athletic professions. I followed the goal of becoming a university professor. For the last ten years I’ve been on the Board of the local senior’s centre and now I’ve created this blog. Each of us has a unique story that continues after we retire. I would like to hear about some of yours.
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Key ideas for this blog entry were taken from: Revitalizing Retirement by Nancy Schlossberg
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