You know you've reached a juncture in life when you begin sentences with "it seems like just yesterday." At 58, my flower child days of playing music all night are long gone. For the past 30 years, I have tried to make a difference in the world by consulting, coaching and training leaders. Lately, although it seems like just yesterday, many of my career experiences are as distant as the chords to "Stairway to Heaven." Conversations with friends now include issues of aging, retirement, and the urgent search for meaning and purpose. All of us agree we have enough time to spend but not enough to lose. Enter Act Three.

Between 2010 and 2030, baby boomers will reach the traditional retirement age of 65. The choices before us are greater than any past generation encountered. So are the uncertainties. Have we saved enough to retire comfortably? Will Social Security fully kick in at age 66 (The new 65) or will maintaining the system's solvency demand that it rolls back to 70? Will our pensions and health care benefits be there for us when we retire? How will rising health care costs, oil shortages, weather changes, a possible recession and the decline of property values affect our plans? And will the traditional retirement dream of golf, cards and country clubs provide satisfaction?

Every life juncture brings an opportunity to create a new personal vision. Don't worry if the details are not in place yet; just live in the questions for a while. Here are a few to help you get started.

1. What have you been putting off that is important to you?
2. What is the refusal you have wanted to make?
3. If you had the time, money and courage, what would you be doing?
4. What traits in others attract you?
5. What lifestyles arouse your interest?
6. What is the gift you bring to the world that you don't fully acknowledge?

You may have a belief that nothing will come up when you pose these questions. Yet the unconscious mind knows exactly what images to uncover. View each piece of information like a dab of color on a Jackson Pollock painting. Don't try to force a logical answer or make plans yet. After a while, patterns will appear that serve as clues. Follow them with grace and ease.

In future entries, I'll discuss, how particular personalities are drawn to different retirement options, how to deal with Generation Y's in the workplace, the latest corporate thinking regarding older workers and more.

 Until next time...

- Aimee Bernstein is a writer and the President of Open Mind Adventures, a company that provides consulting, coaching and training in the areas of leadership, organization and personal development.

EMAIL PRINT

posted at 12:25:19 PM