Why all the Fuss?

Have you ever wondered why the “new year” is such a big deal? Fireworks, celebrations, and resolutions are all part of this annual tradition. Maybe you, like millions of folks around the world, enter the new year with optimism, big plans, great expectations, and a hunger for change. It is the sense of hope for something better, something new, something different that gets you excited about this day.

Unfortunately, just wanting these things won’t make them happen. All too many people will find themselves on December 31, 2021 saying, “Good riddance! Let’s leave 2021 behind and move on to something better in 2022!” 

You’re in the Drivers Seat

Just for fun, and because we can, let’s fast forward to December 31, 2021. You are wondering where the year went, as you always do, and as you look back at 2021 how are you feeling? Are you happy, sad, satisfied, disappointed, what emotions are stirring in you? Whether you end 2021 celebrating or cursing is really up to you, it’s your choice. And it’s a choice that needs to be made each and every day, several times a day.

“This is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) Today is the gift you have been given, not tomorrow or next week. What you do with these 24 hours is your choice. (A good first choice might be thanking the One who has given it to you.)

You have the Free Will to Choose

One thing we know for sure is that you can’t always control the circumstances, conversations, and situations you find yourself in. However you do have the power to choose the attitude with which you respond. Some of your choices may look like this:

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and as you went through these possible choices, what side did you find yourself falling on? Or were you like me, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right.

It is Your Move

Remember that your daily choices, whether good or bad, healthy or harmful, will determine your destiny. A year from now your choices will also determine whether you view 2021 as satisfying and successful or something you want to move on from as fast as you can. So as you come into this New Year, remember the power you have to make choices. For everyone’s sake, please make them wisely.

Life Change Ahead

As you begin to contemplate that new season of life most people call retirement, I prefer your Encore!, please understand that there is a great amount of change ahead. Whatever it is that consumes a good portion of your waking hours and compensates you for it, usually disappears the day you leave employment. As exciting as that sounds to you, as the old saying goes, buyer beware.

Leaving your career is a big change! All too often, many people enter this new season of life with faulty expectations, unprepared for and without a clear understanding of what lies ahead just around the corner. This is where a cavalier attitude and denial sometimes enter the equation.

You begin to think, your retirement is going to be picture-perfect. Not like your cousin Bill, your former coworker Annie or any of the other people you know that are having a hard time with it. Your retirement is going to be ideal. How can it not be? You have been anticipating it for years, you’ve saved diligently, you’re ready to be freed from the shackles of your work commitment, your responsibilities, and more than ready to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Retire From – Retire To

I hear you, trust me I hear you. I know you are different, however, statistics tell us that a large number of the people get to this point and are so focused on what they are retiring from, that they neglect giving serious consideration to what they are retiring to.

Unfortunately, just because you believe a successful, perfect retirement will happen, doesn’t necessarily make it so. In this case, belief without appropriate action may be nothing more than a wishful daydream. In your career you excelled at what you did, probably because you were intentional about being successful.

When it comes to this next season of your life, you need to be equally as intentional and disciplined about planning for the lifestyle that you desire. As you look ahead, how will the changes in your relationships, your daily routine, sense of purpose, finances and your activities impact you?

You may find these questions relatively easy to address and implement. Or you might find them challenging and difficult to deal with. Sometimes, having someone alongside you to guide you through the process may be helpful to you. If that’s the case, connect with me and we can talk about it.

Helping Baby Boomers discover their Purpose

so they can unleash its awesome Power.

How are you feeling?

For some, work has become a duty or maybe even drudgery. It is a necessary part of life that pays the bills and funds the vacations to escape the work experience. For others, it provides the means to use your God-given talents and skills to positively impact the world around you. It is quite possible that your feelings vary and range from one extreme to the other depending on what is going on, not only at work, but also in the rest of your life as well.

According to a Pew Research study that was done in 2016, about 49% of American workers say they are very satisfied with their current job. Approximately 30% are somewhat satisfied and the remainder are either somewhat or very dissatisfied. Given the recent pandemic and its impact on American workers, it will be interesting to see what the current statistics reveal.

For those of you who are retired, you may find yourself experiencing a very different sensation. For all the years you were employed,, work was your reason to get up in the morning. It gave your life a sense of purpose. Now that the job or career is no longer there, you may find yourself searching for that reason.

Do you need a new reason for your new season?

As you think about this Encore! season of life, the question becomes, what is going to be the reason to get up every morning once you leave the job behind you? In the short run, the luxury to sleep in and have an uncommitted free day will be appreciated, needed, and even exciting. Having the freedom and time to vacation and enjoy the hobbies and sports you love is a wonderful benefit of not having a job commitment.

At some point though, most people feel as though they need to be making a positive impact with their life. Sometimes the challenge becomes how to find those activities that bring you the satisfaction of knowing you are making a positive contribution to the life of an individual or cause that is important to you.

It doesn’t just happen!

A successful Encore! doesn’t “just happen.” It takes careful thought, planning, and intentionality. It is most helpful to have a compelling vision of what lies ahead in order to give you the reason to get out of bed. Here is your call to action:

• Take some time to reflect on what makes you feel satisfied and fulfilled.
• Consider the ways that you can spend more time engaged in those activities.
• Identify habits you may need to eliminate and those you need to add that will bring you closer to your objectives.

You may find these tasks relatively easy to address and implement. Or you might find them challenging and difficult to deal with. Sometimes, having someone alongside to guide you through the process may be helpful to you. If that’s the case, connect with me and we can talk about it.

Helping Baby Boomers discover their Purpose so they can unleash its awesome Power.

Taproot Foundation, a national nonprofit, connects nonprofits and social change organizations with passionate, business professionals who share their expertise pro bono. Taproot is creating a world where organizations dedicated to social change have full access-through pro bono service-to the marketing, strategy, HR, and IT resources they need to be most effective.

People 85+ represent the fastest-growing segment of the American population, and the number of seniors as a whole is projected to double over the next three to four decades. While our current corps of 2 million volunteers are struggling to keep pace with this rapid growth, it will take a huge increase in volunteers and resources to begin to meet the need going forward. America, Let’s Do Lunch is intended to shine a light on this growing and urgent need and help spark the involvement of people just like you to help fill that need.

The National Park Service offers a variety of volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups as part of the Volunteers-In-Parks program. Work behind the scenes or on the front line in positions ranging from a one-time service project/volunteer event to a longer-term position, serving alongside park employees or with one of our many partner organizations. Opportunities are available at park locations throughout the United States, including the territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean.

A program of Mercy Corps, MicroMentor’s easy-to-use social platform enables the world’s largest community of purpose-driven entrepreneurs and business mentors to create powerful connections, solve problems, and build successful businesses together. We strive to overcome geographical limitations and deliver business resources at scale to under-served communities around the globe through mentoring.

The Saints are volunteers for the performing arts. At the present time our 2000+ members serve well over one hundred Chicago and suburban theater, dance, and music organizations, ranging in size from storefronts to world-class theaters, from seasonal musical groups to world-trotting dance companies. The Saints members provide help to these groups for a variety of activities including ushering at performances and in return are allowed to attend these activities and performances at no charge. Members choose the venues and performances where they want to volunteer, as often as they like.

Are you an experienced professional seeking a pathway to your second act in the social sector? Do you want to use your skills and talent to make a difference for others? Encore.org was founded on the belief that the aging of America isn’t so much a problem to be solved as it is an opportunity to be seized. For 20 years, we’ve worked to change cultural expectations for the years beyond 50 and spark a movement around second acts for the greater good.