Planning Your Retirement? Don’t Decide What Comes Next Too Soon
A client recommended I listen to this week’s edition of BBC Radio 4’s Start The Week and that was where I discovered Lani Watson’s book Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers.
In this book she explains that, when curious about something, the act of then asking a question creates a little dopamine hit for the brain’s reward system. In that moment we become more receptive not just to the answer we seek, but receptive to any information that’s shared with us in that moment.
Staying curious makes us broadly more receptive to learning and information.
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Besides feeling smugly vindicated in my choice of brand name for my coaching business targeted at people aged 55 to 65, I felt that what Lani Watson was saying gave scientific weight to something I have long believed: staying curious isn’t passive. It opens up possibilities.
That can be particularly important when you are planning your next chapter after a long career.
Don’t make decisions about how you will spend your retirement too soon
When people begin planning for retirement or considering a later-life career change, they often feel a pressure to decide what they will do next.
Consult? Become a trustee? Volunteer? Start a new business?
For those leaving a full-time career in their late fifties, this next chapter of their lives could last twenty years or more. There’s no rush to decide. Sometimes we need new experiences, combined with a period of reflection, before we make any decisions.
This uncertain period is sometimes described as liminality: the space between an identity or way of life that is ending and the next one that has not yet fully taken shape.
It can feel uncomfortable, particularly after a long career in which your role and direction were clear. But it can also be a valuable period of exploration. Rather than rushing to replace old structures and former identities, we can use curiosity to test possibilities and learn what might suit us next.
Experiment before you decide
This recommendation reflects the work of Herminia Ibarra, author of Working Identity and professor at London Business School. Her research suggests that career transitions often happen through doing things, meeting new people and learning from the experience—not by thinking everything through in advance.
Instead of asking yourself the daunting question:
What am I going to do for the next ten years?
try asking:
What could I experiment with over the next few months?
If teaching interests you, run a workshop. If you’re curious about charity work, meet a trustee or volunteer on a project. If consultancy appeals, try one small assignment.
The purpose isn’t necessarily to succeed. It is to learn: Did it give me energy? Did I enjoy the people? Would I like more of this in my life?
New possibilities often come through new networks
Most of us build networks around our existing careers and personal friends. These relationships remain valuable, but they may not expose us to different possibilities for life after full-time work.
Broadening your network can therefore be just as important as trying new activities. Talk to people already working in the fields that interest you. A simple question—“How did you end up doing what you do?”—can open unexpected doors.
Planning your next chapter doesn’t require a ten-year masterplan. It may begin with three simple questions:
What am I curious about?
Who could I talk to?
What small experiment could I try?
A next chapter is often discovered as much as designed.
So if someone asks what you are going to do next, “I’m finding out” may be a perfectly good answer.
If you’re thinking about what comes after a long career, you’re very welcome to subscribe to StayCurious. I write about work, identity, purpose and creating a stimulating and realistic next chapter.
