If you were born between 1946 and 1964 or are of the generation after World War II, you belong to the Baby Boomers generation, so they say. You have passed over the Consciousness Revolution of 1964-84 and the MTV Generation of 1975-85 and the Culture Wars of 1984-2005, as well as endured the Internet Generation of the last few decades. Now we are in the Google generation,  whether we like it or not. You are now the parent or grandparent and teacher or mentor of Generation Y. However, all of that is really of little consequence because what is important is how you think of yourself, how you visualize your role on the planet and how you are setting out to empower yourself, after having been through so many changes of so many kinds.
Do you have a clearly developed vision of your future?
Do you have a clear strategy for your second career, since you ‘will’ live well beyond your retirement?
What is your professional direction?
Will you be taking time off and then return to work?
Do you want to go further in your current career or dig up and revitalize one which you bypassed earlier?
Do you have any plans underfoot for your very necessary personal growth and development?
Maybe you never thought of any of these things in a serious way, figuring you would just continue as you are, and see where things took you. Perhaps you are longing more to just collect a pension and be free not to work anymore. Yet deep down you know that there has to be more to your life than that, especially if you are in good health, mind and intellect and you know that there is a lot more that you can contribute to your community and the world.
This is the time to put yourself fully in the new winning generation, regardless of your age. All ages are colliding now in the workforce and all ages are producing leaders, innovators and money earners- age is of no consequence. It is a maddening task trying to examine oneself from the inside out, without any help from the outside (feedback, analysis, guidance, guidelines, congratulations or criticism). As a person who has lived several lives, you have coped with minor and major challenges already. Now you find there are still hurdles to mount in this journey called Life. Midlife and beyond is when you should be able to answer boldly when asked: Show me what you’ve got! Unfortunately, many have 'what they’ve got' hidden deeply or completely shut out of their consciousness.
What you need to realize is that for the new schema of things in this twenty-first century, the electronic world, economic uncertainties, globalization of cultures and practices, you are already equipped. However, long-buried tools need to be cleaned and sharpened. You are not in the wrong generation, or in the wrong place or at the wrong time. For such an age as this were you born and groomed.
In my model of ‘Career Change Design in the Second Half of Life’ I tell you to take care of certain mind-set matters before and during your quest for a new definition of yourself, and for a new career path to follow. I will share just a few with you here. You might not be convinced that any re-invention of yourself is necessary or even that appealing, or not as appealing as thinking of tours and travel and relaxation. Well, you may be able to afford all of that, but your mature mind will not be able to stomach not participating purposefully while you still have 20 or 30 years more of active life to go.
There is a new brand of maturity, creativity and spiritual connectedness that Baby Boomers are privileged to be able to demonstrate – if willing- by their re-making of themselves, new business ventures, pursuing new careers with more vigor than before and earning more than the youngsters who are really ‘experimenting’ at work, since you already mastered your crafts.
The few mind-set matters to take care of for sure are:
+rethinking your life’s course
+deciding on your passion
+embracing your real worth
+holding on to your new vision
+reclaiming ‘fun’ in what you do, and
+ reaching for nothing less than your full potential
These elements of your career change you can work through with a Life Coach, who is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life transitions for mid-lifers who want to lead in the winning generation.
© COPYRIGHT 2010. Hyacinth E. Gooden-Bailey
Attributions to the author of this article or direct request for permission is required, if any part of this text is being referenced.
