Do You Think of Your End of Career as a Retirement or Transition?

Morphing and Maturing Manifest - Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides)

Butterfly Rainforest, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl

The Language You Use to Describe it Can Affect Your Perspective

The end of your career is one of the most significant events of your life. It is a time when you may feel joy, pride, regret, uncertainty, excitement and many other feelings that are unique to each individual.

You may be looking forward to this new phase of your life with stressful uncertainty or joyful  anticipation.  I find that, as it is for others, it is also a time when you may experience a sense of loss of what you are leaving behind.

An optimistic view is that this is a moment of your life that presents you with the opportunity for personal achievement manifested as renewal and ongoing fulfillment.

My Life and Lessons

I have experienced precisely those feelings and much more.

My life experience includes three lessons and observations.

One, is my own end of career Transition. It was difficult and painful. But it provided me the challenge to grow, evolve and succeed again on my terms in the service of others.

The source of my second lesson is from intense study of this topic as well as the creation of online courses. I have also learned a great deal in the course of consulting with and coaching others on this matter.

The third lesson originates from the skills I have developed in the course of learning English as a second language as well as studying others. One, is to be curious and inquisitive as to how and why we use certain words and phrases to describe things, including major life events.

What We Hear and Discern

Language is essential for accurate, meaningful communication. Its effective use is beneficial for the conveyance of facts, ideas, principles, etc. These provide us with knowledge that provides sentinels that guide our decisions and actions.

Most often, the common language that we hear and speak that describes events is accurate.

However, there are times when the words and phrases that are commonly used in our culture (and others) do not accurately describe the subject matter. It is then that those words and phrases can fail to provide us accurate information. That can be detrimental to our ability to think clearly, develop our perspectives faithfully and act accordingly.

“Retirement.” Really?

An example of this is the common use of the word "retirement" to refer to the end of one's career in a profession or occupation.

A major element of its meaning is that you are leaving something behind, that you are closing a door, so to speak. While its use has an element of reality, it also emphasizes that your life’s work will end or has ended. It feels like the words are impactful as if from a hammer. It seems to augment and fuel the normal feeling of grief over the loss that you will experience.

On the other hand, it is evident that it conveys nothing about your future. There does not seem to be even a minimal implication of moving forward to a life of renewal, ongoing fulfillment… and joy.

What Do Some of My Best Friends Have to Say?

My search for additional meaning and understanding led me to research the word "retirement." What I learned was even more illuminating as I read various sources of synonyms:

Merriam-Webster

• “pullback, retreat, withdrawal”

Oxford  (Lexico)

• “seclusion, retreat, solitude, loneliness, isolation, obscurity”

Roget’s Thesaurus

• “removal, deprivation, ousting, cashiering, disposal, displacement, seclusion, retreat”

Various other sources describe it as: banish, discard, throw away, etc.

It is my opinion that this is not an acceptable way to refer to one of the most significant events of human experience…your life, or mine.

This is a negative, depressing term that absolutely fails to accurately describe this important phase of your life. Further, it ignores that this can be a very exciting period of your life.

It is:

• A time of opportunity to be creative.
• A time to be focused, disciplined and courageous to make your dreams a reality.
• A time that presents you with incredible potential for renewal, joy and fulfillment.

So I ask: why is this so commonly accepted? I do not know why and suspect no one can answer the question.

You and I Can Choose How We Speak

However, I do know there is an alternative choice. That is to make it your decision, as I have done, to simply not use that term and use a different one.

A point of clarity: in the rare cases I do use the term “retirement,” it is to describe how it is commonly used and for reference, as in this article.

My choice is the word: Transition. I use routinely in conversation, public speaking, workshops, online courses and various writings such as this. I capitalize it to emphasize the importance of this process at that time of your life.

This term immediately and clearly implies that it is a process that is shrouded in optimism. It conveys a certain feeling of dynamism, of forward motion, of advancing toward a purpose. Your purpose. It simply feels better.

In contrast to that other word, these are examples of Transition synonyms from the same sources:

Merriam-Webster

• “shift, changeover, metamorphosis, transfiguration, transformation, reconversion, remodeling”

Oxford  (Lexico)

• “change, move up, passage, transformation, conversion, adaptation, adjustment, shifts, progression, progress, development, evolution"

Roget’s Thesaurus

• "transit, passage"

Resounding Words Have Meaning That Resonate

I speak frequently about this idea to people from many walks of life. I am impressed that virtually every single time that I discuss my ideas, they are readily understood, accepted and adopted.

Here is the sequence of reactions that I repeatedly witness:

• A facial expression that conveys curiosity and interest.
• A warm, welcoming smile.
• A nodding of the head that indicates understanding and acceptance.
• Words that flow from the smiling mouth: “yeah, I see that. I like it.”
• The adoption of the term Transition during the remainder of our conversation and beyond.
• Often there is a spouse present, who usually smiles and nods in agreement.

On Moving Forward

There are many reasons you can think of why the practice of using language accurately is important to you. This is especially true when it applies to life events that really matter.

It influences how you feel when you hear certain words that have a particular significance. I affects your view, your perspective towards your end of career and how you manage it.

It is a Transition that really begins when your own feelings about it are somehow “stirred up” and you envision it in your future. For many, it begins as early as three to five years in advance of your anticipated end date.

Your end of career is likely to be a time of memories remembered as well as dreamy visions you will transform into reality.

It is a process, much of which is unknown to you. I encourage you to have faith as you will discover what it is about as your plan, create and execute your Transition.

Please remember that there is one thing you know now. That is, that you can choose how to speak about this matter and why.

I trust that as you speak of your end of career Transition, you will hear your words resonate within you and bring forth a smile you will feel henceforth.

PS: Do you want to learn more from me about how to create and experience a fulfilling end of career Transition? To help you, I provide consulting services tailored to your specific needs. Click here to learn more about this.

Postman Butterfly (Heliconius melponeme rosina)

Butterfly Rainforest, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl