9 Retirement and Reinvention 239based. He worked to stay involved with a number of his favorite activities on a
volunteer basis so that he would maintain important connections. Bill’s ability to
maintain his involvement with organizations that could use his leadership skills
allowed him to transition into meaningful postretirement work, both paid and
voluntary. In short, leaving work means a transition of identity and the struc-
tures of friendships and activities that are often connected to work. Successful
transition means finding new purpose and activity that feels meaningful.
One important way that an adult can prepare for this transition prior to
retirement is to think about how one expects life to change. Reexamining roles,
relationships, routines, and assumptions both before and after retirement can
help with preparation for retirement (Schlossberg, 2009). When one gives up
a job or career, one must learn to stop identifying oneself by company, title,
or industry. To engage in this rediscovery, one must be able to tolerate some
discomfort and anxiety.
One way to alleviate some of the anxiety of shifting identity at this phase
of life is to imagine what one may do with one’s talents and passions. Bankson
(2010) emphasizes how important it is to feel released from the hold work
had on one before moving into the processes she prescribes for creative aging,
including reclaiming, revelation, risk, and relating. In a reading following this
chapter, Jean focuses on recognizing the gifts one has and thinking about how
to use them on a new path. Corbett (2007) tells of a professor who delayed
retirement because he felt that it indicated that he was no longer a scholar. He
had to surrender full time status at age 70, but he did not identify as a retired
person; he was able to adopt the role of Professor Emeritus, a title that allows
academics to keep a role that feels comfortable. Many retirees are concerned
that they will be dismissed or not sought out for suggestions and advice.
However, just “being busy” may mean that a retiree is too busy with activities
that do not fulfill them or connect with their soul or core self.
Ibarra (2003) challenges some of the conventional wisdom about how
work identity shifts occur. The usual method of career planning, in which one
does not make a move until one knows where one is going, is not helpful dur-
ing the reinvention phase. According to Ibarra, planning is less helpful than
doing at this stage. She suggests we experiment and test new aspects of identity
in practice, not by looking inward reflectively. Ibarra (2003) believes identity
does not represent an inner core or true self but the existence of many selves
that are defined partly by one’s history, but just as powerfully by our present
and our hopes and fears for the future. Crafting experiments and shifting con-
nections are two processes she suggests for trying out new parts of identity
to assess what feels authentic and fulfilling. Ibarra believes that our “possible
selves” (all we hope or fear to become) lie at the heart of this transition. An
adult in this phase can change only when she or he practices enticing alterna-
tives that she or he can touch, taste, and feel. Although knowing oneself is
important, self-awareness may be the outcome, not the initiator of the search
for a new working self. In trying out new activities and professional roles on
a small scale prior to taking a completely new path, the adult allows herself
or himself to explore a variety of “selves” in action. Experimenting with new
options, such as a course in photography, a different house in a new location, a
new lifestyle, a new job, and/or volunteer work, is a way of figuring out what
one wants to do at this phase of life.