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After leaving the highest office in the land, former President Ulysses S. Grant found himself grappling with the challenges of adjusting to civilian life. As he candidly confided in a letter to a close friend, “I am now simply Ulysses S. Grant, and I am trying to get used to it.”
While most of us may never truly comprehend the magnitude of transitioning from the most powerful figure in the nation to an ordinary Joe, we can all relate in some way. Changes in identity are a natural part of life’s journey. From childhood to adulthood, from being an intern to running the company, from the status of single to that of married and, sadly, widowed. And a transformation that presents a considerable challenge to many Baby Boomers today: the shift from worker to retiree.
Amid these transitions, people often experience a sense of detachment from their sense of self — an encounter known as identity loss. Irrespective of the degree of wealth or prestige achieved in one’s career, anyone can encounter the same sentiment as Grant did, mourning the individual they once were prior to retirement.
Neither MrsM, or I, ever felt this way. We have many friends who had lots of issues when starting retirement.
If you ended up in a wheelchair unable to walk, that would be a major identity loss. You are now an invent.
Nothings changed except you are now elevated in status due to your achievement of now being financially able to retire. If you were a doctor let's say, you usually keep that title of Dr. long after you retire. You are not your career or job
I think it depends a lot on the person. That is, if one has a life time of having to invent their own world because others isolate them because they don't fit in, it is probably "easier". Once again, back to Barbara Feldon and her book "Living Alone and Loving It".
A lot depends on if the person had a clear line between work hours and home hours. The minute work starts creeping into their so called "off hours" that is when their life starts to revolve around their work. It doesn't happen all at once. It's a gradual shift that takes place over the years as their responsibility increases at work. They literally don't know what it means to not be constantly on call and at the ready - they get calls in the middle of the night, they get calls standing in line at the grocery store, they get calls when they are in the middle of the ocean on a cruise ship, they get calls during Christmas dinner...
For those with more 9-5 type hours and no work calls in the evenings/over the weekend/during holidays and on vacation, having real, uninterrupted "down time" is a normal part of life and I would imagine that the transition into retirement would be fairly easy. For those who have been more or less on call 24/7, there is going to be an adjustment because they simply are not used to their time truly being their own. Their professional commitments are so entrenched and constant that they have a hard time even thinking about retirement.
Much depends on the type of work you've been doing.
My new identity is that of a retiree, and I thorughly enjoy it; I think my joy can be felt even if you read my posts in this forum :-). And once a doctor, always a doctor, but you don't have to work forever. Working forever would be fine, though, if there weren't for the extreme stress of responsibility - disposing of that element of identity was a massive relief. And I really feel for those who continue carrying it - during my most recent (and the first-post retirement) episode of being a patient, with my dental abscess a year and a half ago, I felt sorrier for the poor tense dentist who had to deal with the problem than for me who had the problem.
My new identity is that of a retiree, and I thorughly enjoy it :-). And once a doctor, always a doctor, but you don't have to work forever. Working forever would be fine, though, if there weren't for the extreme stress of responsibility - disposing of that element of identity was a massive relief. And I really feel for those who continue carrying it - during my most recent (and the first-post retirement) episode of being a patient, with my dental abscess a year and a half ago, I felt sorrier for the poor tense dentist who had to deal with the problem than for me who had the problem.
I think it's hard for some to quit working cold turkey. You have to sort of ease yourself out of that grind. You don't run 80mph every day and suddenly stop.
Many, maybe most physicians start off by easing up their hours, maybe going in fewer days and not taking on any new patients. I haven't seen too many just suddenly stop working unless they have had a serious health emergency themselves or are dealing with a health emergency at home.
I think it's hard for some to quit working cold turkey. You have to sort of ease yourself out of that grind. You don't run 80mph every day and suddenly stop.
Many, maybe most physicians start off by easing up their hours, maybe going in fewer days and not taking on any new patients. I haven't seen too many just suddenly stop working unless they have had a serious health emergency themselves or are dealing with a health emergency at home.
Correct, almost all retire gradually. No exception here, but full retirement, with the decision to let all the licenses lapse and never practice again, is still eventful!
Correct, almost all retire gradually. No exception here, but full retirement, with the decision to let all the licenses lapse and never practice again, is still eventful!
Certainly it would be sort of scary to allow your licenses to lapse and never practice again. I can totally understand that.
Certainly it would be sort of scary to allow your licenses to lapse and never practice again. I can totally understand that.
I'm glad that you are enjoying your retirement.
No, it is not scary at all. Why would it be scary? (it was way scarier to practice actually :-) But it is slightly dramatic, after all the years of being so focused on something... but the most dramatic element of the drama is the relief from responsibility. I never knew it was possible to feel this free.
Re licenses, of course you can continue renewing them, but they are expensive, and it's a major waste of $ to keep them after you haven't practiced for two years. After that amount of time, a physician couldn't in reality go back to practice even if he/she wanted.
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