Topic: Career & Life Planning

Transitioning to Retirement: Personal Reflections

The Art of Conversation - 50+ Style

Transitioning to Retirement: Part 2, A Professional's Perspective

Transitioning To Retirement: Part 1

Many people look forward to the day they will retire with much anticipation. This is especially true for those of us with jobs which pay the bills but don't engage us, challenge us or feed our souls. Much of this anticipation revolves around getting away from the stress and other issues involved with our jobs; but do we really know what retirement will look like on a day-to-day basis once we get there?

In a series of three articles, we will look at the transition from full-time work to being a retiree, and some of the issues and feelings that this transition often raises.

It's Time to Explore Your Future

Have you started asking yourself, "What's next in my life?" If so, you have two opportunities coming up to participate in Coming of Age: Delaware's free workshop series, "Explore Your Future." This four-session, non-financial life planning workshop will help you explore your values, skills and passions as well as the many opportunities in our community for people 50+ to earn, learn and serve. Details appear below:

• February 3, 10, 17, 24, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. GEM (Growth, Education, Mental Fitness), Jewish Family Services of Delaware, 99 Passmore Road, Wilmington, 19803. To register email ksamworth@jfsdelaware.org or call 302-478-9411, x130.
• March 8, 15, 22, 29, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Silverside Church, 2800 Silverside Road, Wilmington, 19810. To register email Deborah.Vandiver@state.de.us or call RSVP at 302-255-9882.

Questions to Help You Find Your Calling In Life

Your calling in life, says Frederick Buechner, is "that place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."

Rev. Sam Shafter in this article from www.encore.org offers three, thought provoking questions to help you discover your calling.

"Explore Your Future" Comes to Delaware

When you finish high school or college you go to a guidance counselor to talk about your future. But where do you go when you leave your primary career or the last child goes off to college? Where can 50+ adults turn for help figuring out the next chapter of their lives?

In Delaware you can now turn to Coming of Age: Delaware's "Explore Your Future" workshops. Explore Your Future is a free, non-financial planning workshop for those who want to explore the next steps after full-time work. The program is presented in four, two-hour segments:

• Session 1- What Have Been the Major Influences on Your Life?
• Session 2- Who Are You Now?
• Session 3- Visioning and Exploring Your Ideal Life
• Session 4-Creating the Life You Want

Developed by National Coming of Age with help from Meg Newhouse, one of America's foremost authorities on 50+ life planning, Explore Your Future features self-assessments, peer sharing and other hands-on learning to help you vision and plan for what's next.

Explore Your Future will be first offered at the Newark Senior Center in November and then at community locations throughout the state. All future presentations will be announced in this newsletter.  

Try Out Your Dream Job with a "Vocation Vacation"

Being Downsized: A Blessing in Disguise?

A new study by AARP has found that people 50+ who have switched careers, whether voluntarily or not, tend to find greater job satisfaction in their new jobs. Boomers and others 50+ are learning to appreciate the benefits of less stress on the job and more flexible working schedules. This article, published in the News Journal, also provides a helpful list of websites for 50+ job seekers or career changers.

RSVP Volunteers Reach Out to the Jobless

This article by Lynn Kroesen, a Coming of Age Delaware contributer in Sussex County, describes "Bridge to a New Position" an innovative response to the current economic downturn created by the 50+ volunteers of RSVP Sussex and New Castle Counties.