One of the biggest lies in all of American culture is the one about retirement. Sure, we boomers grew up and most of the older folks spent 30 or 40 years at General Motors or Dupont, then wasted away during the next 10 or 20 years of what remained of their life, bouncing babies on their knees. But now, my generation changes jobs an average of 7 times during their career. There's a whole frickin' industry now that caters to just that.
Then, there's an entire discipline that studies the emotional fallout from major changes in our lives. Later, another group will make in-depth studies of the first discipline and determine the need for better credentialing. Have you ever stepped back, taken a deep breath, and thought, "What in the hell are these people talking about?" I mean, get a life. That having been said, my epiphany du jour is that this is just what we all need to do. Damn the torpedoes, find out what it is that floats your boat, yanks your chain, makes you wake up at 5:30 in the morning rarin' to go.
"Easier said than done," you say. Fine, don't try. Look, I'm not high on the mountaintop of personal victory, but I did, after 57 years, stumble over it. I found it by the strangest of circumstances. I was crippled by my arthritis, sitting on a couch in the only position that afforded me some relief and bored to death. I got my laptop, started writing a book and became obsessed. Yes, I admit it- I'm plagued by OCD issues, but the point here is that it has become my passion, my raison d'etre.
Don't get me wrong. I'm no Pat Conroy. I know that. And, I have no aspirations to write the great American novel. By the same token, people who know how to edit tell me it's pretty good. Who knows? I may never get published but I'm having a blast.
Which brings me to you. After all, there are enough self-absorbed, one-dimensional people in your life already. Instead of spending your life hoping you don't get fired, bored to death with a dead-end job, why not begin to look back at your life and see what you really love to do? Go back to school days if you have to, just start to inventory the times from your past that have a glow around them in your memory.
I guess what I'm saying is that you may be a proficient attorney, but hate practicing it. What else have you done or dreamed of doing that you've never had the time to pursue. Go for it, dude or dudette. Just start living in a way that allows you the chance to do something you believe in, enjoy, get off on, feel warm and fuzzy inside while you're doing it. The best doctors, bus drivers, musicians, interior designers, chemists, house painters---they all have one thing in common - they love what they do. In their eyes, it is their purpose for being here on this planet. If you don't see that in your work, go find it, eh?
Go for it. Grab for all the gusto. Live your dream. (Your trite adage goes here). You never retire if you find your purpose. Dr. Debakey, the great heart surgeon, worked into his 90's. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, died at his keyboard in his 90's. Got it? O.K. Start right this instant, get off your butt and if you're not enjoying your life, start to change it. Make a list. See a shrink. Talk to your best friend. Whatever it takes, I challenge you, get going.
Please excuse me as I dismount my soapbox.
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