maybe the Question should be ….

written by

Jeannette Zink

There are re-occurring questions that seem to enter the conversation I may be having these days. They go something along the lines … Congratulations on your retirement. What are your plans now that you have retired? Are you staying in the area? I bet you are going to do some traveling and see the world, right? Tackle that bucket list? So happy for you … best wishes.

I have always been an overachiever. So, I have at the ready my prepared responses to these inquiring questions. Yes, indeed, I do have plans …. After all, I did not retire on a whim – I thought it all out; did research; measured each pro and con; met with retirement counselors; talked with financial-like folks; and, even visited retirement communities; plus, made an inventory of my hobbies and continuing education options. Ask me your typical question when it comes to the chit-chat of retirement, and I will provide the answers to your well-meaning questions.

But, maybe these are not the questions to be asked … maybe the more important question to ask is the one that is tucked secretly away inside the stairwell of our soulful heart. The one that gives me more of a challenge and that higher degree of fortitude to climb one more level of exploration. That question being, “What do you want to reclaim from your youth … now that you are retired?”

To answer this question is not hard for me, it is the courage to implement the answer that seems daunting to this 69-year-old retiree. You see, somewhere along the way, I lost the courage to be brave … to take those bold steps that in my youth were scary, but I did them anyway. Here are just a few of (at least for me) my youthful high-flying trapeze acts:

In my late twenties, I left all familiar safety nets of family, friends and homeland to move from my birth state of Oklahoma to the foreign land of New Mexico.

While living in my adopted landscape of New Mexico, I ventured across the bridge of New Mexico to Old Mexico – Juarez (on more than one occasion) ... dancing the night away with the love of my life to the disco crystal ball tunes of Donna Summers.

Traveled solo to Europe on a 17-day TWA tour.

Career goals led to moves from Oklahoma to New Mexico to Dallas to Washington, DC to Houston to Midwest USA back to Dallas and then finally back to Washington, DC … traveling solo on all these career-ladder junkets.

Bought 4 homes and sold 3 … all by myself.

Traveled all over the country … sometimes driving solo late at night in all kinds of weather conditions and interesting terrain.

Like I say … these were courageous acts for me and ones that would surely give me pause today. Yes, I was once BRAVE and took calculated risks that now warm my heart as memories protected by yesteryear’s joie de vivre. I want to rediscover my bravery … the courage to dare age and logic when the rational mind whispers the what-ifs of potential life road-bump disasters.

I have purchased all kinds of security blankets -- insurance policies, long-term health care, AAA for roadside assistance, mobile phone and charger, check for water pipe links each morning and evening, and have saved for the inevitable rainy days. So, what is stopping me from reclaiming my once cherished and youthful BRAVERY?

I tell you, my friends, life experiences can play havoc on the road to tomorrow’s age-proof brave next steps. I want to be brave and do those things on my bucket list; I want to toss caution over the shoulder of risky business and do it anyway; and I want to be responsibly irresponsible (within limits). I want to find my brave joie de vivre, again!

So, there we are … the question for me is not what I will do in my retirement … but, will I find the BRAVERY to do all the things that I would love to do … as I once did in my youth?

Does Amazon sell safety nets for joie de vivre?

Stay tuned …

Zigzag Dot Pattern

written by

Jeannette Zink

When I was between my freshman and sophomore year in college, I struggled to declare a major. My freshman counselor offered little support with my dilemma and the inspiration switch of my mental light bulb had not flipped on, yet. So, I sat on the floor of my bedroom and started to leaf through our family’s set of door-to-door salesman Encyclopedia Britannica. It was the late 60’s and there was no Internet or Google to lean on … just the hard cover weighty books arranged in alpha order and housed in our hallway makeshift library.

It was by sheer accident that I stumbled upon the topics of fashion coordinator, fashion illustrator, and fashion designer. The light bulb was beginning to blink … that’s it!!! I will be a fashion illustrator and designer. I love art; I love fashion; and design is like the perfect icing on this career choice major. That’s It … case closed … decision made … course set … I now had a path to follow and a purpose for the costly expense of a college education. The dots were now connected! Or were they … 

Fast forward to the summer of my junior year when my parents suggested I apply for financial assistance after reading an article in the newspaper. I completed the necessary forms and was awarded Federal Work Study. The job that I ultimately secured was in the campus Personnel Office assisting the Work Study Coordinator. I LOVED my job of helping other Work Study students find a job. It was in helping others that I truly did feel that spark of passion for my intended purpose. Just one problem … I was too far along in my declared major to switch gears and pursue a program in personnel administration. My well-planned dots were beginning to disconnect by the snippets of my newly discovered passion.

Fortunately, as the saying goes, where there is a will there is a way – my beloved Work Study Coordinator took me under her wing and navigated a course that would forever change my life. I graduated at mid-term and there was no option but to find a job. There was indeed a job in the campus’ Office of Student Financial Assistance. Scholarship Clerk paying a whopping $1.97 per hour. “Why not apply … it will do until something better comes along,” reasoned my Work Study Coordinator. I did apply and was selected for the job. Just a job until something better comes along … I can still hear those words echoing in my mind after recently completing a 45-year career in the field of federal student financial assistance.

I was fortunate to pursue this career path through several different landscapes. However, no matter the vista, it always fueled my unwavering desire to help others -- just as I had been helped back in the dark ages of typewriters, mimeograph machines and hard covered books.

The beauty of connecting dots -- the pattern does not have to be a straight-line design. In fact, a zigzag pattern renders an interesting design much as the rhythm of a passionate heart when pursuing the intended purpose of one’s life.

   

Speaking of the zigzag dot plotter … I never forfeited my love of the arts through the years. The passion for helping others was always woven with hints of a paint brush casting a glow of possibilities for those pursuing and supporting the dream of a higher education.

Funny how the dots in our lives find a way to connect if we stay open to interesting patterns.

Wish I’d Known

written by

 Jeannette Zink

Sometimes I hear people speak with tones of remorse as they stroke their crystal ball with the mystical whispers of “wish I’d known.” It is as if their yesteryears lacked the clarion voice of today’s acquired wisdom. I guess my psyche travels in a slightly different circle of thought … let go of baggage claimed yesterday, benefit from today’s procured insight, and grab hold of tomorrow’s bold new opportunities … that’s my motto. But, just for fun let’s take a quick merry-go-round look-see at a time long ago when first I stepped foot on the ladder of my now 45-year career. Back in the olden days when I viewed my career as nothing more than a “job” to earn money, my wisdom could best be described as “evolving” and my sense of urgency to make well-informed and thoughtful decision danced a whimsical tune of throwing caution to the winds of whatever. So, if I had known then (job epoch) what I know now (career epoch) … wish I’d known… back in those olden days … what erudite nuggets would have informed my naïve blithe yesteryears:

      1.  Career ladders are intended to have wobbly steps … don’t try to skip, leap or skirt any step … they promote tomorrow’s wisdom and today’s character. Cherish each step of the tears, struggles, and victories as they prepare you for the goals you will strive to achieve throughout your career.

2.    Failures are disguised gifts – when unwrapped we find inside an exquisite wealth of knowledge. Think of failures as a soft opening to the many successes that are destined to follow. Learn from each experience as you prepare for your GRAND OPENING!

3.    The sandbox of my youth would become the space for creative problem solving and new discoveries for all the future “what-if” questions. Pens, calculators, computers, tablets replacing my crayons, paints, brushes and sandcastles … but not the creative spirit to find answers hidden inside the doodles etched on a once blank page. Play with the grains of exploration without the filters of fear and doubt washing away your shoreline of “what-ifs.” 

4.    My fears of success and failure were grounded more by the desire to be right than not wrong … right = success / wrong = failure … or so I thought. Wish I’d known that being wrong would lead to far more success and refreshing happiness. I have learned more from being wrong than I ever learned from being right. Guess I was wrong trying to be perfectly right.

5.    Perfectionism is a waste of time. Wish I’d known this little gem a loooong time ago! Do not aspire to be perfect, aspire for excellence and dust around the messy parts. My first grade teacher applauded my ability to always color between the lines. It was only after tip toeing outside the lines that painting and learning took on a rainbow scape of lifetime knowledge. Spend your hours outside the line of perfectionism … it will be your best investment of time, energy and effort.

6.    Work hard for the money, as the song goes. With all due respect to the songwriter, I suggest a slight modification to the words of this song. I’d say work smart, work with dedication, work with excellence, work with integrity, work with stewardship, and work with respect for others … working hard and long hours may make great song lyrics, but does not score star points for a stellar career.

7.      Wish I’d known … Get a life! A career and the success of that career are much like your favorite pie. There are basic ingredients that are needed for any pie just as there are basic expectations in the workplace. There are also unique ingredients that set your favorite pie apart from others just as there are skill sets and individualism that give you a unique voice and contributions for the workplace. In the making of the pie and in the making of a career, there are equal parts: ingredients, mixing, baking, and a cooling period. Bon appétit. Pies and careers are best made with each part given balanced attention. And, by all means … Get a life!

8.      Hierarchy reign and office politics … Game of Thrones in the workplace. As much as I would prefer to skip over this phenomenon of gamesmanship and organizational culture, I will remove my rose-color glasses and declare without dramatic gesture the existence of both. Learn as much as you can early in your career the rules of engagement and tactical maneuvers of these team sports. Wish I’d known how valuable these games are in the professional setting and in the personal off-Broadway production of our lives. The language, rules and expectations of these games are rarely included in the academic curriculum … look instead for an on-the-job mentorship to explain these facts of life and/or check out the business section in your local library. Wish I’d known sooner rather than later how to play the game.

9.       Strong bridges, sturdy fences and the janitorial team …. The infrastructure of my career could have fallen apart on numerous occasions. The links that averted such professional disasters were the bridges erected and sustained at the hand of collegial respect, fences constructed for demarcation of space rather than silo kingdoms, and a janitorial maintenance team clearing the way for new beginnings. Do Not Burn Your Bridges, Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, and the Janitor May Be Your Next Boss -- sage offerings that are as true today as they have been throughout the ages.

10.   Can’t see the forest for the trees … Some may see only the forest, while others may only see the trees, and then there are those who see the overall forest and the minutiae within the forest -- trees, plants, underbrush and waterfalls … It comes down to how one may approach professional challenges. The correct approach is the one that works best for you and the one that works best to achieve a common goal. Just keep open to multiple ways of seeing the landscape.

11.   Know when it’s time to move on …. There are road signs to guide the journey you choose to take in life. Heed the road signs, my friends. More than likely, the most important road sign you will ever know intimately is the one that is invisible to everyone, except to you. I refer to your homegrown instincts … the sixth sense of cloudy answers and insecure next steps. There have been times when I was very happy with the status quo of my career. Yet, my inklings and the clearly marked road signs were beckoning me to take bold new adventures. The message delivered through this vessel of abstract delivery is as valid as any formal written communiqué. Respect the nudge and pack your bags … it’s time to move on!   

12.   Golden Rule …. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Know it, do it and be it … the person that follows the Golden Rule. Your life will be enriched and those that find themselves within your circumference will forever be changed by the wisdom it carries and the grace that it bestows.  

These are my erudite nuggets that I share with you – ponder if you wish with a grain of salt. Perhaps these nuggets may not fit into your schema of life, but just in case … pause to consider as you meander your way toward each new goal and remarkable achievement.

May we each find joy in our lifetime journey … forever made stronger and wiser from the gifts that came wrapped within each challenge, failure and success.

As for me, the road sign is distinct and well-marked … now is the time for me to grab hold of tomorrow’s bold new opportunities!

Bon appétit!