Retirement vs. Transition. What’s Your Perspective?

Waves of Snow – 2010

Bridger – Teton National Forest, WY 

The Influence of Language on Your Perspective

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

You may be looking forward to this new phase of your life with stressful uncertainty or joyful  anticipation…or perhaps both.  For many, it’s 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 that presents you with the opportunity for ongoing personal evolution manifested as renewal and fulfillment.

Life Lessons

I have experienced some of those feelings and more, including these lessons and observations:

• One, is my own end of career transition. It was difficult and painful. But it provided me the challenge to 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 and guiding others. That includes the creation of unique online courses, publishing articles, public speaking and consulting to assist in creating their path.
• 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. In this case, a major life event.

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 sentinels of knowledge that guide our decisions and actions. Usually, the common language that we hear and speak describes our life’s experience accurately.

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’s then that those words and phrases 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, vocation or occupation.

A major element of its meaning is that you are leaving something behind, that you’re closing a door, so to speak. This use has an element of reality; it emphasizes that your life’s work will end. It seems to augment and fuel the normal feeling of grief over the loss that you will likely experience.

On the other hand, it’s evident that in and of itself, it conveys nothing about your future. There does not seem to be even the slightest implication of moving forward to a life of renewal, ongoing fulfillment and joy…which is the essence of such a transition.

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 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's 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 term that fails to accurately describe this important phase of your life. Further, it ignores the positive aspects of the transition process. One that can and should be a very exciting period of your life. 

It’s:

• 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 when its inadequacy is so evident? I still wonder…

You and I Can Choose How We Speak

However, there’s an alternative choice. That’s 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’s to describe how it’s commonly used and for reference, as in this article.

My choice is the word: "transition." I use it routinely in conversation, public speaking, my online courses, publications and various writings such as this.

This term immediately, clearly implies that it’s not an event, rather, it’s a process. It conveys a certain feeling of dynamism, of forward motion and advancing toward a purpose. Your purpose. It simply feels better…and that can affect your perspective in positive ways.

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”

Retirement” closes doors. Transition opens them.

Resounding Words Have Meaning That Resonate

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

Here’s 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’s 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 perspective towards the transition from your career and how you manage it.

It's 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 five years in advance of your anticipated end date.

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

It's a process, much of which may be unknown to you now. I encourage you to have faith as you will discover what it’s about as your plan, create and execute your transition. 

Please remember that there’s one thing you can do now. You can choose how to speak about this matter.

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

Date Updated: January 3, 2025

PS: Would you like to learn more about how to transition successfully from your career? I provide services to physicians, non-medical professionals, corporate executives, businessmen and entrepreneurs that are tailored to their specific needs. Click here to request an introductory conversation.

If you would like to learn about another way that I can guide you, check out this brief video that describes my unique online course: 

 The Practice Transition Course for Physicians. _TM     

Conceive and Create – 2009

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