Huge headline event.
Add comment February 2nd, 2007
Archive for February 2nd, 2007
Reinvention or Crisis? Retiring or Starting Fresh?
Hat tip to the Boomer Chronicles for leading me to this piece on Life Two. “A new book tells the stories of over forty people who undertook ‘midlife reinvention.’” It’s a nice break from the conventional mid-life crisis meme. Of course, my hands start to clench up when I see things written like “Embrace Your Fear!” What a meaningless thing to say or think and who ever actually does that? Life Two in turn links to an MSNBC piece from a few days ago where Financial Editor Jean Chatsky breaks down some of the advice in the Crandell book reviewed in all these posts.
Embrace your fear. Making any transformation, big or small, is going to stir up some apprehension. That fear is completely natural — in fact, most of us are terrified by changes. At the same time, though, we need to make them in order to have a full, interesting life. “As long as you’re intending to move forward,â€? said Crandell, “there are probably no wrong moves.â€? Repeat that mantra to yourself, then turn your fear into motivation. Remember that without it, your focus might waver.
So there it is. “Turn your fear into motivation.” I might re-write something like that to say: “Recognize fear as energy, even a nervous energy, and draw upon it.” You don’t want to clamp down on fear and try to forget about it or bury it.
Sometimes I like to think that the people I meet here, moving to Mexico or Panama, are better gringos, or more fearless gringos. But it’s not really fair to say that. All of their concerns are played out in the email archives of our customer service area and the network of people we are always talking to. “Is it stable? Is it safe there?” These are the most common questions we hear, and nothing will answer them so completely or totally as will even a quick visit to Mexico or Panama.
Part of my goal here, is to help especially with the 3rd piece of advice listed in the MSNBC piece: Form a support group. Probably a support group needs to come from someplace a little closer to home, with the people you trust the most. But reaching out to 2 or 3 of your friends with similar concerns will really make all the difference in the world. And I see many times each day that the internet and blogosphere is a big part of that support group for the people already here and those thinking of this sort of change, ie; moving or retiring to Mexico or Panama. Use that energy, folks. It is always going to be there unless you take even a small step toward unraveling it and allowing it to expand into a comfortable and confident next phase of life.
Add comment February 2nd, 2007