Rewirement Tips v.2 - See the Big Picture

There are so many things to consider as you contemplate your future. You need to see the "Big Picture", as best as you can, and you also need to look at your daily life and think of how it will be impacted if you retired or as we call it rewired! To help you with your thought process here are more tips to consider:

Accept retirement as a time of - and for - change.
Think about what will change in your life, and what you want to change. Also cite what you don’t want to have changed.

Get to know yourself.
Make time to discover who you really are. Spend time alone each day. Don’t negate your own ideas. Capture even your off-beat thoughts in your journal, and refer to it often.

Determine what you want in retirement vs. what you need.
Wants and needs are two different things. Needs are what you have to have, and wants are what would be nice to have. Create a checklist for each.

Fill in the blanks on What happiness is---.
Think about your current life and jot down what in it makes you most happy. Also note what’s missing that you would like to have.

Talk to former and current work associates about their retirement plans.
Openness can lead to answers and solutions. Find out what has been successful and what would they do differently. Create a composite of traits and activities that you admire in others’ retirements and would seek in your own. Discover to what they attribute their success.

Try phasing into retirement.
Many employers will consider transferring employees to jobs with reduced responsibilities, schedules and pay as a step prior to entering full retirement. Investigate opportunities within your organization.

Talk to family members.
Share your retirement plans with those close to you. You and your family need to communicate at this time. Don’t risk having them feel left out or being the last to know. Don’t be swayed by their comments if they don’t work for you. If you hit communications roadblocks with your partner, consider counseling.

Go out on top.
It’s great to set your own agenda and leave on a high. Prior to this year the last seven winning Super Bowl coaches retired after they won the Super Bowl.

Why Do So Many People Hate Today's Words?

What’s going on?

Having recently given presentations in Chicago, LA, San Antonio and New York, I have been struck by how vocal people have become about words they hate! Several years ago when we were researching ideas for Don’t Retire, REWIRE!, we heard rumblings about how many people disliked the word retirement. They didn’t like the image it evoked; they didn’t like the definition of the word and they couldn’t relate to it. We knew that our concept of rewiring would offer pre- and post-retirees an alternative way to think about and plan for their future. Although we created the term rewirement we realize now that we don’t care what people call their future life stage, we care more about how they live or “do” their future.

Now it seems that people dislike most words that have anything to do with aging! It’s like there is a rebellion going on. People have shot down the words-- Senior, elder, mid-life, older, mature…and the list goes on! When I started hearing people complain, it made me think about the first time someone said, “Thank you, “Ma'am! to me. All I could think was “What? Or the famous Robert De Niro line from Taxi Driver…”you talking to me?” I thought, “I’m still cool! How can you call me Ma'am?” It meant that that younger person, saw me as older, (notice I didn’t say old) and I was shocked.

AARP says that “60 is the new 40.” Studies cite people seeing themselves as 10 -12 years younger than they really are. So is it just boomers wanting to be younger? No. When a 90 year old woman told me that she volunteers and that her job is to take the blood pressure of the “old” people, I thought who is she talking about? She proudly said, “92 and 94 year olds!” This is not a boomer rebellion about certain words, this is broader and in the mind set of many. It was then that I discovered a great article in AGING TODAY, called WORDS TO AGE BY: A GUIDE ON STYLE AND USAGE. The link will take you to the November-December 2007 issue for at least another 3 weeks. Then it will be in "Back Issues" at the bottom of that page. When you get to the page, just scroll down to "Words to Age By." Although written for the media I think it is a good read for all of us!

So just to be safe if you see me on the street just yell out…Hey You! And I’ll answer.

Vacations Can Be A Good Way To Rewire -- If Used Properly!

We went to India during the holidays. It was the first time that Rick, my co-author/husband and I, had been away from our families for Christmas, and the first time that we had ever traveled with a group let alone a group on a bus! The result was an unbelievable trip on every level and I thank TRAVCOA for that. As much as some of us want or even need to be in control, there is something to be said for turning control over to others and having them supply the structure and schedules. India is a very complex country; made up of extremes (www.bestindiansites.com) and trying to understand India’s beauty and poverty forced me to live in the moment or maybe I was just ready to live in the moment.

Although I carried a Global Blackberry with me, I did not allow it to intrude on my trip. I wasn’t beholden to it; yes the work I do allowed me that freedom but I realize that going forward I will use my Blackberry as tool of freedom not as a tool to tie me down. It’s a head shift, but one I need. Once I began to reflect on why the trip was so terrific, I realized that I had allowed all of my senses to become a part of the Indian experience. I totally immersed myself in all of the sights, smells and sounds of a very magical country.

During a dinner conversation on the third night of the trip, I made a comment and a fellow traveler asked, what do you do professionally? I thought for a minute, and said, “I’ll tell you in few days.” Rick was stunned but smiled. I didn’t want to talk about rewiring. I didn’t want to talk about retirement or pensions, or life planning, or the mature workforce. I was on holiday! Later in the week I told people about DON’T RETIRE, REWIRE! and about my speeches and audiences.

When I got back to New York I realized that I had desperately needed time off from talking about the future and about other people’s next acts. I had rewired my own energy and come back to work ready to rewire America but with a greater understanding of myself and the world around me.

Do you hink about how you use your vacations? Or more important, do you take vacations?

Whether you’re on vacation or just doing life, try living more in the moment. Let me tell you, it takes practice, but the benefits can be enormous.

Jeri's Rewirement Tips

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, here is a list of tips I like to give people to get them going in the right direction. Enjoy!

Don’t think too small when you do your rewirement planning.
This is the time to “let the kite out!”

Know why you want to retire.
Your decision should not be based solely on your hitting a certain age or a certain financial number.

Plan ahead.
Challenge the conventional notion of retirement. Begin planning with your specific interests and needs at the top of your mind. The goal is to create a customized retirement for yourself or as we call it rewirement®.

Start a rewirement journal.
Set it up by section. Write down your thoughts, dreams and goals. Refer back to it often.

Define what retirement means to you.
Identify how you perceive it---positive, negative, or mixed--- and know why.

Don’t covet your neighbor’s retirement.
Seek advice but remember what may be terrific for your neighbor may not be right for you.

Determine what you consider to be a good rewirement and why.
Develop a list of ingredients that you think constitute a happy future. Record the criteria in your journal and note ideas on how to achieve them.

Identify what activities and associations will end with retirement.
Some things that end will be out of your control, others won’t be. Identify which ones you’ll miss.

Accept rewirement as a time of-- and for-- change.
Think about what will change in your life, and what you want to change. Also cite what you don’t want to have changed.

Acknowledge how you handle change.
Do you run from it; thrive on it; embrace it; lead it? This insight should guide your planning.

Keep your values close.
Our values are our anchors. Is work your anchor? Recognize that the absence of work may leave you feeling adrift.

A Rewirement Book and Blog Launch

The Second Edition of DON’T RETIRE, REWIRE! was released on November 8th and as a way to celebrate the book launch I’ve decided to begin my blog. I want to support the new book and you also as you use it to start your rewiring journey. It’s exciting to bring out a Second Edition that includes all of the on - target information and inspirational content of the first edition PLUS MORE!

The new content was inspired by letters from our readers---questions from our audiences---plus insights from my work as Senior Advisor at The Conference Board on the Mature Workforce. Now that the leading edge boomers are 61 and realizing that we are living longer…healthier…and younger lives, the search for answers and ideas on how to get the future “right” has only increased! First I don’t believe that there is one way “to do the future”…. as I say ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL that’s why creating your rewirement based on your motivators and interests is so important. It doesn’t matter whether you’re married, single, working, already retired or thinking that you’ll never retire…you still need to think about what you’ll do or want to do in the future.

DON’T RETIRE, REWIRE! Second Edition is filled with cutting–edge realities that can impact your rewiring…from partners struggling to figure out their futures…to workers trying to combat real and perceived ageism…to having “scripts” to use as you rewire into new paid, volunteer or fun activities.

I’ve come to think about the future in terms of the 6 F’s:

• Having fun


• Being fulfilled


• Continuing to grow financially


• Staying physically and mentally fit


• Spending time with friends and family


• Recognizing the fear that the future is about the unknown and going forward any way

In a recent speech a man thanked me for challenging him to look at the future differently (that’s the reason I’m wearing the wild glasses). I needed to do something to shock people into seeing that I’m really serious about looking at the future with a new set of eyes. After a bit of laughter---they get it! We all need to look at the future differently. You’ve got to rewire your mindset before you can rewire your actions and get exciting results. We need to lighten up about the future. Rewiring shows you how. It’s about thinking...then doing!