Are You Ready For Your Second Half? One of the greatest social developments of this century has been the extension of lifespan, especially of working lifespan. As a result, a growing number of people expect to find enjoyment in their work. Additionally, as they reach their mid-forties and beyond, the work they have known and loved during their First Half, may no longer be as challenging or hold the same allure as it once did.
A seed begins to grow – an increasing awareness that new stimulus and growth is needed. This is where we begin to take stock of our life and career as we move towards our next major life stage. As “Half Time” author Bob Buford says, “For the Second Half of life to be better than the first, you must make the choice to step outside of the safety of living on auto-pilot. You must wrestle with who you are, why you believe what you profess to believe about your life, and what you do to provide meaning and structure to your daily activities and relationships.”
According to an article that first appeared in Financial Executive Magazine, every day 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 and face the question of what to do after retirement. Some of them may be selling a family business or are laid off without much hope of obtaining a comparable job. Many, perhaps most of this group have no idea about what to do next – especially if they don’t want the second half of their lives to be characterized by decline, boredom and increasing ineffectiveness.
Most men and women in their 50s and 60s are immersed in their business or profession and have given little or no thought to the next phase of their life. Their First Half may have been too busy and they just never seemed to find the time to stop and reflect. Finding a new career, parallel career or new life mission means restructuring one’s life and that does require time and self-reflection. If you cannot afford to take the time and solitude necessary to discover your next great thing, then you are not ready to find it. Taking stock provides retiring Baby Boomers with a real opportunity to consciously shape their next major life stage – their Second Half.
What’s a good first step? Set aside some time to spend in solitude with a journal – preferably out in nature. As theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said, “If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I should reply, Create silence.”
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you take stock of where you are at this moment:
- If my life was absolutely perfect, how would it look?
- What are the values that give purpose to my life?
- What are my passions?
- Am I missing anything in my life right now that’s important to me?
- What do I do so well that I would enjoy doing it without pay?
- What causes do I care about in the community? The world?
I partner with clients that are asking: What now? Where am I headed? What will bring more purpose and meaning to my life? After all, it is only after developing a complete perspective of where we’ve been, and where we stand now, that we can begin to move forward into a new vision for our life. Let me help you create a customized performance roadmap that will help you live out and create inspired impact!
Diane
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