Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Announcing New Retirement Course!

If working isn't weird, then how can we take the "best of work" and bring it into the "best of retirement?"

A Guide to Take the Weirdness Out of Retirement explores what you will need in retirement that will create a sense of meaning and purpose at a time when you're no longer defined by your work title. So much of the weirdness of retirement comes from losing our sense of direction. In this course we explore how to create a "new normal" by embracing new roles, being involved in work that is greater than ourselves, and recreating conditions that contributed to our happiness at work.

If you're not interested in every day feeling like Saturday and Sunday, then you are going to love learning about new organizing concepts that are much bigger than a life of leisure. 
If you're not ready to give up work completely, you will be glad to learn how to regain the psychological benefits of work. 
And if you're worried that you don't have something that you are passionate about doing in retirement, in this course you only need to be curious and have an explorer mindset.
If you are facing the decision to retire, you will find support that will help you feel prepared to step into retirement. This is especially important if you are in a work environment where it is not "safe" to talk about retirement. This major life decision and transition is too complex to go it alone. 


This 2 1/2 hour online course is offered through Udemy.com—a global marketplace for learning and teaching online.

Course price $20 with coupon code: RETIREHAPPY 

I hope you'll try the free preview and share the coupon code with friends. 
Thanks! 
Patrice


Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Monday, May 15, 2017

A Three Quarter Life Break-Through

I often read business and career books that are targeted for Millennials—people born between 1980-2000. I'm drawn to these books because I believe Baby Boomers have a lot in common with our younger counterparts. We're back to figuring out what to do with our lives. And like the Millennial generation, we want more—more meaning, more engagement, and more of what matters.

My recent library search led me to Adam Smiley Poswolsky's new book, The Quarter Life Break-Through: Invent Your Own Path, Find Meaningful Work, and Build a Life that Matters. Poswolsky suggests the pathway to finding meaningful work and building a life that matters is to "figure out your why: why you wake up in the morning and what you want to do for the world."

I believe the same advice applies to those of us who are looking for a three quarter life break-through. Retirement happens to be a perfect opportunity to invent a new path, bring meaning to our days, and create a life that matters. But to do this we need to know our why.

We know how days feel when we don't have a why. We mindlessly roam around the house or shopping mall, or pass the hours in front of the TV or computer screen. Retirement was supposed to be bigger than this. And yet, many days are thoughtlessly wasted with nothing meaningful to do. We need a why.

This past week I was speaking with a man who has been retired about 3 years. He admits that he's still floundering, trying to find his way in retirement. "I thought if I just worked hard there would be a rainbow at the end." What this gifted person failed to consider is his reason to jump out of bed in the morning. He needs a why.

All this talk about needing a why, leads me to the question: "How do I find my why?" If I knew what it was, I would be doing it.  I'm suggesting that you just start doing something. When something grabs your attention, pay attention. Take action. According to authors Richard Leider and Alan Webber, "The only thing worse than doing something that might be wrong is doing nothing at all—which can’t be right. Once you start to act, you allow surprises to happen."

A quarter life break-through requires us to accept responsibility; to stop waiting for a road map and start drawing one. We may not know exactly where we're going, but the journey will reveal interesting discoveries. Along the way, we'll stumble upon several reasons to enthusiastically begin each day. We'll know our why.


Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Fully Refreshed

I'm not very good at taking care of my houseplants, which is probably why I only have two. I forget about then until they droop over and are about to die. That's when they catch my attention.

This morning I was watering a bone-dry philodendron plant. The soil felt like it had been in the desert sun. I put the plant in the kitchen sink and let the water run and run. I imagined the roots saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" I might have been washing away all the plant's nutrients (shows how much I know about plants) but from my thinking, I was saturating the roots—giving them enough water that if they didn't soak it in in the first passing, more was coming.

As I was doing this I imagined people who have just retired from very stressful, demanding, and all-encompassing careers feeling so depleted, so dry, that they just need a refreshing shower to rain upon them. If this describes you, then give yourself permission to recover—to do nothing if that feels good to you. Imagine that you're a plant that needs to soak in a refreshing shower.

How much time do you need to feel revitalized? Only you can answer this question. Some people tell me that they take the first year of retirement to recover—to feel replenished. If you're coming off a few decades of stressful work, give yourself this time to recharge.

And then at some point, imagine that your roots are healthy and rich, fully nourished and ready to begin a new life. Too much water for my plant will do the opposite of what I want it to do—the plant's roots will rot and mold from too much moisture—too much of a good thing. I think the same is true after a period of time to refresh in retirement.

It's at this point that you can approach retirement with renewed zest and commitment to create a meaningful and purposeful life. Imagine that you're planting a fresh healthy stem in nutrient-rich soil. With proper care and conditions, it will grow into a vital healthy plant, and so will you.

Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

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