Remember When You Retired from High School? By Steve Wilson Thoreau summarized the common human experience when he said, “Going from–toward; it is the history of every one of us.” In other words, life is lived as a continuous transition (one thing after another). At any moment in time, we are either coming from something or going to something.
As you review your life’s history, it’s clear you’ve transitioned many times. Some were meticulously planned; others were spontaneous. Some were joyful; others were painful. And many transitions happened while you scarcely noticed, thanks to skills acquired from your previous transition experiences.
I have found the advice given by two of my favorite people very helpful. Albert Einstein said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving forward.” And Winston Churchill said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going.”
However successful your history, there is one transition that causes some hesitation (if not a complete stop). It’s the transition called retirement. Wait! Don’t faint! Retirement is just another transition. Compare and contrast it with other major life transitions. When you do, you’ll see it’s not to be feared. Here is why: when you begin retirement, you have a lifetime of experiences, contacts, and resources; you also have a lot of transitioning practice. One reason retirement is so intimidating is that we have decades to think about it, bringing intense pressure to get it right because no one wants to get it wrong. When compared with other transitions in your life, you may actually be surprised that retirement may not make your top five list. Seriously, you’ve gone “from–toward” with fewer tools and with far less advanced preparation.
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