My boss just recently told me that she is retiring after many years in teaching and over three decades in association management. We talked a bit about what she’s going to do once she doesn’t have to come to the office on a regular basis and she mentioned spending more time with family and friends, exercising, theater and the like. But the thing that sticks with me most is that she wants to live abroad in impoverished areas and teach little kids. Now, she’s got a pretty cushy deal right now: a big corner office, travel to resorts for meetings, teleworking, etc. To hear her talk about leaving it all behind and getting down in the trenches kind of threw me – I mean, that’s pretty cool. It also got me thinking, what the heck do I want to do when I grow-up?
I think this is a thought process much longer and complicated than I could (or should!) put in a blog post, but it’s definitely worth putting out there…if you could stop doing what you’re doing and do something else, what would it be? Certainly there are practical considerations – I’m never going to be a figure-skater or a whale biologist – but barring those (and a few others), there are a lot of possibilities. My boss went back to her roots as a school teacher…unfortunately, my roots are in food service and I don’t think I want to go back, but could I go forward? Could I finally work as a park ranger or red carpet security agent? Maybe, maybe not, but if I start thinking – and doing – now instead of waiting until I retire, maybe I can spend more time doing things that are closer to my heart and get closer to what Catherine talked about in “Loving What You Do.” I realize now that my boss’ plans are not just her own, but mine as well – she has created for me an opportunity for self-reflection and reshaping the direction of my own career trajectory…thanks, Anne. Now, excuse me while I search for open mic nights at my local pub…
-Libby Bingham
GOOD FOR THE SOUL 