Be Open to New Opportunities

July 11, 2018

These days I often get many questions about my plans for retirement (I think that is inevitable when you reach my age). I’ve even been guilty of asking my friends of a certain age, if they are thinking/planning for retirement. Honestly, I think many of my friends are asking me these questions because they are concerned about me. It’s no secret that when I retire, I’m going to have to leave a city that I love. And the people who love me and know me best are concerned that I will have a difficult time adjusting to the change in residence. I appreciate their concern, but I think I’ll be okay.

I’ve always been able to “adjust my aspirations” as Daniel H. Pink describes in his book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.

I remember a conversation with a friend in 2002 as I was preparing to leave for a 3-week trip to Michigan, which involved me staying in a dorm room and attending classes as part of a Fellowship program with the Indian Health Service. My friend was concerned that it had been 24 years since I had lived in a dorm room, and that the time away from family would be difficult. The reality is that it turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life (life changing, really, not to mention getting to spend one of those weeks getting to know my BFF better)! I returned from that trip refreshed with a renewed sense of purpose!

Lately, I’ve had several conversations with family about the future. Some have expressed dissatisfaction with the ever-changing things happening within their professional life. My brother-in-law recently asked his wife and me, if given the chance, would we go back to being 18 years old? Without even looking at each other, my sister-in-law and I said “NO.” I am a career professional and my sister-in-law has always been a stay at home mom and wife, yet both of us are as happy with our lives today as we were 40+ years ago. Both of us resoundingly said we love our lives today and look forward to the future. I think the reason for this is that both of us have a positive outlook and the ability to adjust with the changing times.

I think this is not only important to consider for those of us facing retirement, but also for our youth graduating from university and facing career choices. Recently, I was watching a YouTube video of an interview with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Wharton professor and organizational psychologist Adam Grant. They said the worst career advice is planning your career in advance.

"It's a terrible idea, because the world is changing way too fast to know today what opportunities will exist in four or five years," Grant explains. "I think that so often, people get locked into one direction long before they have any clue what's out there, and long before the most interesting opportunities even exist."

As Sandberg writes in Lean In, social media didn’t even exist when she was just starting her career. "Mark Zuckerberg was only 7 years old when I graduated from college," Sandberg writes in Lean In. "I could never have connected the dots from where I started to where I am today," Sandberg explains. She agrees with Grant, making a concrete plan isn't a good idea. But you should keep some focus in sight.

"While I don't believe in mapping out each step of a career, I do believe it helps to have a long-term dream or goal," she writes. Looking for the right career "requires both focus and flexibility." Grant and Sandberg say you should always keep your eyes open for new opportunities. I concur.

My career in no way resembles what I thought it would be in 1982 when I started working at the Oklahoma State Department of Health. But I have remained open to the opportunities that were presented to me. And, I have been incredibly fortunate in the process.

So to my daughter and nieces, it's okay if you don't have it all figured out yet! You will get there. And to my friends who are worried about me when retirement finally comes; I’ll be fine when I return to Oklahoma some day. There are enough people there I can hang with who share my values. Plus, Dallas is only a 3-hour drive away, and I can reach my friends by plane. Don’t worry about me.