We live in a world where it makes a difference how things are defined. Let’s use the word “retirement” as an appropriate example.
The word itself engenders a belief in what that means. For some, it might mean lazy days of golf games or rousing games of pickleball. For others it means traveling around the world. Yet others might define it as time devoted to family. You might personally define it as hours used to help make the world better through volunteer efforts.
Regardless of your definition, someone else might be holding a different meaning and that’s all good, but in many cases, not accurate. The question is how we see our retirement as wide or narrow, as full or empty, as easy or challenging. The word itself is loaded with a self-imposed definition.
In a week or so, I will be attending my 50th high school reunion and I’ve been thinking about what to say when (or if) asked about my current life. If I say RETIRED…it hardly spells out my life. So I am searching for a new way of explaining. Our friend, Richard Eisenberg has coined “unretirement,” which I think is pretty damned good, however, it still doesn’t paint a full picture of the reality of my life right now.
When we say we are “working,” people generally get the gist, especially if they know your field of engagement. But when you’re no longer employed in your profession, it becomes opaque. If our goal is to inform others of our current situation, we need to have words that explain it (without the explanation becoming a dissertation that puts the person who asked to sleep).
I might just say, “I am no longer working on my career, but am passionately engaged in other meaningful pursuits.” Too much?
What do you say when asked?
Do you suffer from the same disjointed feelings that the word “retirement” just doesn’t do it?
