"We Don't Even Have a Word for This Stage of Life"

🟢 A colleague said this to me recently and I think she’s right.

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🧭 The word that doesn’t fit anymore

We use the word retirement as if it clearly describes a stage of life.

But what does it actually mean?

To stop working?

To slow down?

To rest?

That might have been true at one time.

But when my colleague described what she sees in her husband, who recently retired, it didn’t sound like stopping or slowing down at all.

He’s traveling.

Managing family responsibilities.

Handling complex decisions.

Staying engaged in ways that matter.

“He’s busier than ever,” she said.

And yet, when people ask what he does, the answer is still:

“I’m retired.”

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🌱 The identity gap no one talks about

There’s something subtle but important happening here.

We have a word for what we leave…

but not for what we’re entering.

And that creates a kind of identity gap.

If you’re no longer your title, your role, or your profession…

what do you call yourself?

What do you say when someone asks, “What do you do?”

For many, “retired” feels incomplete. Even inaccurate.

Because life doesn’t stop.

It just changes shape.

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💡 A different way to think about it

In our conversation, she described it in a way that felt much more true.

“It’s a different chapter.”

Not an ending.

Not a withdrawal.

A transition into something new, where time is no longer primarily organized around earning a salary, but around how you choose to spend it.

That shift may sound simple.

But it changes everything.

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✨ Why this matters more than we think

The language we use shapes how we see ourselves.

If retirement feels like an ending, it’s no surprise that some people struggle with loss of identity or direction.

But if it’s seen as a new chapter, something opens up!

Possibility.

Choice.

Intentionality.

The question becomes less about what you’re leaving behind…and more about what you’re stepping into.

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🔗 If you’re thinking about your next chapter

Maybe the problem isn’t retirement itself.

Maybe it’s that we’ve been using the wrong frame all along.

This is the work I’m passionate about, helping people move beyond outdated definitions and intentionally design what this next chapter can look like.