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Retirement looks way different now than it did in previous generations.
Baby boomers have managed to redefine every other stage of life.
Why should retirement be any different?
And baby boomer alumni of the GSB are especially
likely to take pioneer roles in this next frontier.
We, baby boomers, are healthier and wealthier than our predecessors.
That means we probably have 20 or more years of vital life ahead.
So recreation and travel are fun, but
they aren't enough to fill our time and fulfill us for 20 years.
This next frontier is an opportunity to create meaning,
contribution, and fulfillment in whole new ways.
I like the three Ps, purpose, people and pleasure.
Statistics from the Blue Zone Study of Healthy Longevity show that a strong sense
of purpose and healthy relationships are the primary factors in long happy lives.
I throw pleasure in there, too, because this is the time of life to enjoy
everything that you've delayed previously due to competing demands on your time.
When I ask my peers, by the way, when they plan to retire,
they universally respond never.
The word retirement has become associated with the client and
disengagement from the world.
And in fact, in the US, the two most dangerous years of a person's life,
is the year they were born and the year they retire.
That's a direct reflection of how most American
associate their professional roles with their self worth and identity.
We're working to change that statistic on reframing what it is to retire.
There are good reasons to do a little planning.
The day people retire, they experience huge losses,
loss of identity associated with position and responsibility.
Loss of their sphere of influence, loss of their community of colleagues, and
loss of a primary arena to demonstrate their mastery.
Often, this leads people to wonder, without my big career, who am I?
Why do I matter now?
It shouldn't be a surprise then the experience of leaving
may feel like falling off a cliff.
Plus, they're coming home to a different relationship with their partners,
children, and grandchildren, and friends.
It can be jarring for spouses to find themselves together 24 for
7 for the first time ever.
It's as if the social contract for the previous stage of life has ended, and
the new one has yet to be written.
This can cause real misunderstandings and
it's helpful to redesign relationships as much as possible in advance.
Even if you want to just chill during the first several months of retirement,
go ahead.
And it's important to create a blueprint for the next frontier in advance,
so that you'll feel you're stepping into something fulfilling along
with leaving a big chapter of your life behind.
So what you want to pay attention to is your purpose and its applications.
Something important to do that uses you really well and
grows you at the same time.
You want to pay attention to your relationships,
people to love, serve, and collaborate with.
You want to have a vision for your next chapter.
A vision responds to the questions, what do you want?
What do you want to create?
Who do you want to become?
Write yourself a vision story set in your next chapter.
Describe a perfect day in every detail.
What you have for breakfast, how you take care of your body,
what you're passionately engaged in today, who you're playing with,
what you're dreaming about, what you're looking forward to.
In order to live into a vision, you have to have one first.
Of course, a vision is iterative depending on what you learn as you go,
but it's still a useful compass to navigate the first months and
years of your next frontier.
Purpose is a combination of your talents and your competencies, those you've
most enjoyed using, your values and what you're passionate about in your world.
Using yourself really well in service of something you care about is
wildly fulfilling.
And when this happens, you're in your sweet spot.
Whether you apply your purpose to starting a new business or to volunteer work,
it's essential to find another application of your mastery and
your passion if only to remember that you've still got it.
And you don't want to do it alone, why should you?
Social connections are the most important factor in healthy longevity,
including relationships with family, friends, and the extended community.
Even knowing your Starbucks barista's names and
greeting them in the morning is vital to mental health.
Your bucket list.
Now, we're back to the P of pleasure.
Bucket list gives you something to look forward to.
It's an opportunity to awaken your wanter,
that capacity in you that knows how to hunger and yearn.
A bucket list captures what you don't want to miss before you die.
It's not just about possessions and vacations.
We believe a bucket list should include experiences, adventures, arenas for
contributions, relationships you want to nurture, people you want to thank,
young people you want to mentor, habits to break or to cultivate,
new learning opportunities, physical challenges and more.
So wake up your wanter and let your imagination run wild
in service of a wildly fulfilling new life.
And there is no time like the present to expand your backup lists and
start checking off items.
You have lots of time left to, but life is short and
uncertain, so don't waste a single minute of it.