Is that all there is? Many folks in my generation are asking that question. After 25 or 30 years in the same job or the same field, many, many workers, especially men, think there has to be more than just a good job with great benefits and a solid retirement program.
While coaching I come across this question much more than I ever dreamed I would. It took me a while to recognize the trend because my clients often stated this question in different words.
“Whatever happened to my idealism?”
“I want to help people.”
“I want to make a difference.”
But when you boil it down, there is a deep emptiness in people in their 50’s who are dissatisfied toiling away in their cubicle or corner office instituting a new marketing plan, or a new billing plan, or a new waste reduction program.
And why shouldn’t I recognize this groundswell? Didn’t the same process happen to me? After being a pilot for 30 years and a private military contractor for much of that time, I got to the top of my game. My company was happy with me, and they were willing to pay me a lot of money to continue to be a cog in their machine. All I had to do was show up for work and fly their airplane around Colombia. Then I asked myself, am I going to do this for the next ten years? The same thing everyday?
To stop growing is to die. I didn’t want to rust away, even if my company was willing to pay me a lot of money to do so. Where did my emptiness originate?
- I stopped growing as a professional. I already possessed the skills I needed. I could fly my missions almost blindfolded.
- Able to see the end of my career, I asked myself, “Where will I leave my mark on the next generation?”
- I no longer felt like I was part of the solution. Our war in Colombia did not seem so important anymore.
- I missed my family.
I see so many of these same themes in my clients and friends. I hear it in their conversations: “I’m just marking time.”
From my clients who’ve been downsized, I hear a component of relief in their voices. Now, they can do what they have really wanted to. I’ve seen men leave the cubicle for a sales position, accountants get into law enforcement, and preachers move over to run a hospice.
Do these moves mean more income? Not usually. Folks are looking for meaning as well as money. Fulfillment as much as finances.
Factors such as time off, proximity to grandchildren, and personal realization all come to be non-negotiable. To all you Boomers out there, all I can say is: “Go for it.”
I did, and I am loving it.
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