Since I announced my intention to leave my job some 18 months ago, I’ve have been asked countless times ‘are you retiring’.
The answer involves a rabbinic twist – it depends what ‘retiring’ means. If it means no longer working, then absolutely not – I have much more to contribute and I need to earn a living. But if ‘retiring’ means moving out of my career as a pulpit rabbi, then yes, I suppose I was, even if I continue to do various kinds of rabbinical work.
However, ‘I’m retiring from the rabbinate’ caused confusion, so I tried ‘stepping down from the rabbinate’, instead and when that also didn’t work, ‘stepping down from my pulpit’ before settling on ‘retiring from my first career as a rabbi’.
I’m not sure this made any difference to people’s perceptions. I asked a close friend with his ear to the rabbinic ground what my soon-to-be-former colleagues were saying about my surprise announcement.
Apparently, many thought I’d lost my mind as I was giving up a great job that they thought I was good at; others assumed that a long-lost uncle had left me a fortune!
Today no-one other than the elderly, sick or the very wealthy retires from something. People retire to something.
They – well – aim to Leave Well | Live Better.
We have all noticed people still in prominent roles well past their prime – they are no longer effective and sometimes appear unhappy and even isolated. I can think of a number. Given that they may also no longer need the salary, why do they stay? There are many reasons, but one is they fear having nothing of value to do, so they hang on.
In short, they have much to retire from, but little to retire to.
‘Retire’ is really the wrong word – ‘transition’ or ‘pivot’ is probably better. I won’t be using ‘retire’ much in the Leave Well | Live Better newsletter.
How difficult would it be to replace ‘retirement from’ in your thinking with ‘transition to’ or ‘pivot to’ as you explore how to Leave Well | Live Better?
Please tell me in the comments.
Next up: Leave Well | Live Better: Were you Fired?
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Spot on as ever. I’ve had exactly the same issue of terminology and speculation about why I’m ‘really going’ (minus the rich uncle). Pivoting and transitioning is a far better term - though it does need a ‘something’ to which one is pivoting and, at least in my case, there wasn’t a firm plan. That made the decision harder for others, and even for me, to understand. Transitioning to an unknown wilderness is an odd look, but that spiritual dimension and opportunity has been key.
Meanwhile, if that dancing chap in the photo is you, you’re looking well on the experience so far.