It takes
many years of sustained effort to build one’s mojo, but it can be lost in
retirement. The loss is one of the hardest parts of changing gears as one comes
face to face with a new menu of reference points about what to do, when. The
old mojo seems to melt down as one’s practiced arsenal of habits, connections,
moxie, and place in the scheme of things dissipates. So, what can one do?
STAY IN THE
GAME. Don’t retire, at least not fully. If you still get satisfaction from what
you do, continue. I know doctors, lawyers, actors, and teachers who just keep
going.
SHIFT TO A
NEW FIELD OF PLAY WHERE YOUR MOJO IS VALUED. Volunteering is a common remedy for
people who have had management or administrative careers. Some retirees start
new businesses in which their experiences get exercises.
CONSTRUCT A
NEW MOJO. Become competent in something fresh. It is possible to turn the page
of your life and start a new chapter. As a very successful rabbi who left the
pulpit said when his many friends questioned his decision: “I am starting Act
II.” He committed himself to writing…and some years later made the comment:
“Who knows, maybe there will be an Act III, too.”
DO NOTHING. Don’t
worry about your mojo. Look back on it with acceptance, if not pride, but
recognize it is—or was—career specific, and it was most likely assembled on the
basis of role models, expectations, and the external, objective world in which
you lived when you were young. Retirement could be the time in which you
explore a neglected, internal, subjective world that, according to many
accounts, is probably rich indeed. Meanwhile, your mojo will live on as part of
your history.
I think this is a good reminder that ultimately, it's not about "WHAT we do" it's about "WHO we are and HOW we choose to live."
ReplyDeleteIt takes will power. It is not enough to have good thoughts or resolutions. Whatever energy is available needs to be directed toward doing what one thinks worth doing. It is so easy to become distracted to discouraged and say, "What is the difference."
ReplyDeleteMy former comment was attributed to "AF" with the last "A" omitted by, I suppose a computer glitch. So feeling somewhat shorn of identity, I am making further comment. The other day a friend told me I was too serious and to "lighten up." So this is an effort to do that. Much ado about nothing. Ha
ReplyDelete