To Renew the License or Not

At a recent pre-retirement talk, a woman said, "The one thing I'm not sure about is whether or not to renew my professional license."

I asked, "Is the cost prohibitive?"  No.

"Is the continuing education requirement more than you want to complete?" No.

"Do you still draw energy and enjoyment from this field?" Yes.

That's when I said, "If you learn one thing from today's program, I want it to be this: Keep your license."

I have no idea if in the future this workshop participant will want to practice as a speech therapist. It doesn't matter. Having her license creates a mindset that she has choices—that she's open to possibilities. In fact, by keeping her options open, she's expecting opportunities to come her way.

Authors Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander in their book, The Art of Possibility, advocate for viewing life from the universe of possibility, where you set the context and let life unfold. Keeping her professional license sets the context.

Living with expectancy does not mean that you sit back and accept whatever comes your way. Conversely, you position yourself for possibility by getting involved in activities that are outside of your comfort zone. When an interesting opportunity comes your way, you jump onboard and see where the ride takes you. You commit to creating a bigger life, an expanded life by choosing action over inertia.

For my workshop participant, keeping her professional license is just one example of how to approach her future with expectancy. How about you? What can you do to create a context that will nurture a sense of anticipation, hope, belief and possibility in your retirement years?

Copyright 2017. Patrice Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.