Spring 2005

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Transitions to Retirement

charting your own course

Enise Olding and Carol Baird-Krul

This is the final in a three-part series which takes a look at pre-retirement planning from the psychological and emotional point of view, based on the workshop “Transition to Retirement: The Uncharted Course”© created and developed by Carol Baird-Krul and Enise Olding, both retired from careers in Education. Previous articles introduced the idea of the transition from work to retirement, and the phases one might expect to experience right after leaving work and before feeling comfortable in a new role. This article looks at some of the options open to the newly retired. Previous articles may be viewed at www.PacificEdgePublishing.com. See Canadian Teacher Magazine – Back Issues – Fall 2004 and Winter 2005 for downloadable PDF files.

Are you ready to chart your own course now that you’re well into retirement? Euphoric days and storm tossed emotions have been experienced and you’re itching to move on and make choices for your future. You’ve invested both time and effort considering your life thus far, and now you have a handle on who you are as a person as well as what your values truly are. You’ve assessed your skills and abilities, likes and dislikes, and have a pretty good idea of the things that you love to do, and the things that you still want to accomplish. In short, you feel comfortable in the retirement mode and you’re now looking forward to the future with enthusiasm.
The old structures are gone, new ones are replacing them and life is lived at a different pace. You have time to be open to ideas and probabilities that only a short time ago might have seemed out of reach or perhaps a little fantastic. You don’t want to go back to the structure, routines and stresses of your old workplace, but you want to fill those long discretionary hours of retirement with something purposeful. You want to feel significant, contributory and content.

As you begin to chart your own course, take time to consider the direction in which you want to go. Explore your passions and dreams, so that you can turn them into reality. Peel back the layers to find the essence of your dreams while looking for and being open to creative ways to fulfill them. Look at your hobbies and use them to sample possible directions and choices.

Researching the areas of your interest will help you find out where and how it is possible to use your many skills. As an education professional, you have skills that you may not have even thought of as usable in another forum. Some of those skills, such as being able to organize, communicate and write well are easy to list, but what about ones such as acting and research? As a teacher, you have to have acting ability to get students or co-workers enthused about a new concept. The ability to research and understand pedagogical theories and then turn them into learning outcomes is a worthwhile skill in arenas other than education. Put your expertise to work—recycle and refurbish your skills to benefit yourself and others.

Now is the time to step outside of the limitations that you might have imposed upon yourself in your primary working career, and take some chances. We both found that it was worth taking the risk and putting ourselves “out there” to share an aspect of retirement that we felt others should be aware of and should prepare for.

Post secondary education administration, marketing and property management formed Enise’s working background and she used her skill set to create, develop and present the workshops Transition to Retirement: The Uncharted Course, with Carol. Not only did this involve organizational and design skills, it also thrust her in front of a class of adults—a somewhat daunting experience at the best of times. “My passion for the topic overrode any anxiety I might have had, and now I find I’m thoroughly enjoying my time in front of an audience,” she says. “It’s something I never thought I would ever be doing with such ease and humour.”

For Carol, whose preferred style is to learn experientially, the challenge was to keep on one course at a time instead of going off in a variety of creative directions. With an audience waiting and a first-class workshop to deliver, remaining focused was key. “My life is full of variety both with the workshops and outside of them. I love to research everything and gather information for others and myself,” says Carol. “My challenge was to stay the course with a single idea I had and then work collaboratively to present the information in the most useful and entertaining way possible, making sure it is pertinent to the individual or group.”

When we charted our own courses, neither of us necessarily took the easy way out; we stretched ourselves and our individual abilities, which in turn gave us a sense of achievement and the desire to continue on to greater things. Early on in our association, we also decided what were our criteria for success. Having had that discussion and set out our criteria we’re much better placed to tackle new challenges and also generate ideas in our current incarnations as workshop presenters. And, the best thing is, it doesn’t feel like work!
As you move forward and begin to “chart your own course” consider your own criteria for success. Ask yourself if making money is the only reason to do a job. What other rewards might there be in a volunteer position? If you want to use your teaching skills, add a TOESL certificate to your credentials and consider teaching in another country where besides exciting challenges you would experience a new culture. Tutoring privately when and how you choose could be another interesting option. Starting a business is a possibility as StatsCan tells us the fastest growing group of successful entrepreneurs are retired people. Also, given that by 2011 more than 20% of our population will be 61 or older, and there will be fewer young people entering the workplace, there will be many new, diversified opportunities.

There’s a whole world of opportunities out there, but you can’t expect the right thing for you to just drop into your lap.

You’ll need to do some research, read and ask a lot of questions. Here are a variety of options that might appeal:

Online tutor
Movie extra
Commercial voice-overs
Reading news and books for the visually impaired
Canadian Executive Services Overseas (CESO) volunteer – short assignments
Canadian University Services Overseas (CUSO) or Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO) – both long term assignments
Tour guide
Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)
Freelance writing or research
Start a “sitting”business or service – house, garden, plants, pets, elders, children
Advocacy work for adults and children with disabilities
Become a “meet and greet” for a cruise line if you live on either coast
Look out for special events in your area and volunteer (e.g. Senior Games, Children’s Festivals, Agricultural Fairs, etc.)
Elder College speaker or instructor
Start an interest group – books, gardening, hiking, travel, science, discussion, computer, chess, walking
Explore your creativity – art, music, pottery, flower arranging, carving, building, singing, photography, computer graphics, drumming.

Whatever you decide, don’t be afraid to explore, experiment and change if necessary, until you find that something you’ve been looking for to give purpose and direction to your new life.

It could be anything—paid employment, travel, studying, writing, reading, gardening, a complete new career, volunteering, entering politics, even teaching! But, whatever it is, remember that in today’s world YOUR retirement is whatever YOU want it to be.

Carol and Enise work together doing, among other things, workshop presentations as DR Associates. They can be reached by either email or phone. www.drassociates.ca