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At 68, you would think that my decades of experience helping others envision their future pathways would make me an expert in my own career development. And yet, at the crossroads of letting go of my former professional identity and embracing a new one, I am struggling.
I look in the mirror and I see wrinkles from my many years of good living. I see light, but I also see chaos. I’ve experienced many careers. I know what I’m good at and what I love. I have an abundance of time, options and energy. I can make ends meet without worry. So, why is it so hard to move forward?
My inner turmoil calls to mind a Bible verse I had to memorize and recite to my Grade 13 German class: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
I am a semi-retired career coach who has worked with high school and university students for over 20 years. I have observed many young people working through the darkness, tentatively, toward greater light and perspective. They often struggle to see beyond today’s limitations, to envision a brighter future. The younger they are, the more challenging this future imagining can be.
“I know what I’m good at and what I love. I have an abundance of time, options and energy … So, why is it so hard to move forward?”
This struggle is rooted in brain development, not immaturity; the executive functioning of our brain does not reach maturity until our 20s. But I ask myself: are those nearing or entering their retirement years fundamentally different from young people? As we age, change, advance or decline in our careers, do we still see darkly in that mirror of the future?
As someone who is fascinated by career development theory and practice, I think about Donald Super’s model of career development. His fifth stage of career development, which starts at age 65, is called “disengagement” or sometimes “decline” (Brown, Brooks & Associates, 1996). The granddaddy of career development theory posits that I should be preparing to retire, as my workforce output is likely declining. Ugh. Sounds like a prison sentence.
I waffle between options. On the one hand, I tell myself I’ve worked hard all my life. Should I not just embrace retirement living and engage in the hedonism of my day-to-day desires? On the other, I continue to reflect on possibilities for my next worthy, fulfilling life project. The big questions bubble up: Who am I? Why am I here? How do I want to spend my remaining time on Earth?
I doubt I am alone in pondering my existential career questions. I believe many of the millions of Boomers worldwide can relate. We may more clearly see our potential and know our likes and dislikes – yet we are still at a crossroads.
We suffer on the one hand from time affluence, where we can always push the life project to tomorrow, and on the other, time poverty, where our time on this Earth is literally running out. How can we make the most of our available time? I believe career development practitioners can play a key role in helping Boomers determine how to use this precious resource.
Socrates is reputed for saying at his trial: “The life which is unexamined is not worth living.” I believe career practitioners can help Boomers pursue an examined life – meaning, to help us investigate our own definition of the ingredients of a good life, by considering our values and what gives us purpose and meaning.
What does it mean to live an examined life? For each person, the answer is different. For some it might be staying close to home, delighting in the companionship of family and friends. For others, pursuing world travel and adventure. And then there are many who might embark on a completely new phase of their professional life. But the examined life, for the young or the old, is worth pursuing.
For those in their later decades, living an examined life might just be one of the keys to well-being, health and happiness. And regardless of whether we see in our mirror chaos or simplicity, it is dangerous to assume we fully know ourselves.
A life of purpose and meaning, especially in our final decades, is a gift we can give ourselves – and one for which career development practitioners can be our doula. They can provide a valuable service to older adults who still see through the glass darkly and know they are nearing the phase in life when they might soon be face-to-face with their maker.
Brown, D., Brooks, L. & Associates (1996) Career Choice & Development, 3rd Edition. Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco.
