Amazingly I have been fortunate enough  to re-invent myself on numerous occasions and even at this late stage of my life have been privileged to be a valuable member of a dynamic company where my role has been tapping into my knowledge base as a doyen of the recruitment industry, been involved in strategy, and most important has been the coaching, mentoring and life skills aspect of my role. Some of the team having won an incentive.

This comes to an end in March 2016 as my next challenge, in fact one of the biggest of my life, is immigrating to Canada and starting a whole new life’.

So Where to now?

Whether calling it Transitioning or Re-inventing, at any age it is critical to be relevant at any stage of our lives, currently among my peers we are facing the time immemorial dilemma.How to stay relevant and employed. Some many of us at this age are facing retirement and for so many of us our lives have revolved around business.Our Value or perception of part of our value is tied up in our ability to be part of the work force and contribute to business. We have phenomenal expertise – we stay relevant so our ideas are current and yet to the outside world we are dinosaurs and there is a surprised reaction people when there is realisation that we excel in this 2015/2016 space.

Our dilemma is not necessarily around not getting a pay check at the end of the month, (notwithstanding this will be critical to some people) it is around getting up in the morning and having a purpose to the day. If, like me you have been a workaholic and had to balance being a single parent with 4 children and initially very little money, while it was very harsh I did manage somehow to bring/ drag up four children. (They were called “I want”, “Give me”, “I need”, “Buy Me”. We have some hilarious stories). They were my project and thank goodness all are on their feet and I have amazing relations with all. This is and was not sufficient for me – I had no time to develop hobbies or no interest.

I did my charity stint for many years – been there and worn the tea shirt so now what:

How the question that is burning in my mind is how much is enough, how much do you need to stop work is the excuse one sometimes hides behind as the real question is what do you do with the fear that is lurking when you do not have a place of work to go to albeit you may work from home.

For me while I do want the pay check the realisation that from end of March I am unemployed and the end of June I am immigrating to Canada has resulted in an identity crisis over and above the norm as I have a network where I reside – in Canada I have no history.

Gail Sheehy quotes in her book “New Passages” relating to “Old Elephants’ Club, age 65. The extract is:

“He conceded that he had always measured his worth as a person by what the money he made could buy, the swimming pool……….. Now that he has all the toys he could use, he pondered, “What is the reason? What’s the purpose? If you don’t have an answer, you just get back on the treadmill because that is all you know. What do you do when it stops?”

So why all of this?

It is to set my personal scenario influenced by my conversations with my circle of friends and acquaintances.