It’s happened to all of us, I know it has. You meet a newly retired person, and you get the opportunity to hear all about their amazing career, how important they were and their latest and greatest vacation.
Seven years ago, this could have been me or my spouse doing all the talking. We were newly retired; surely other people cared about who we were and what we did.
My husband and I had our light bulb moment shortly after we moved here; a former colleague pulled my husband aside and gave him some amazingly simple advice, and I will pass it along in the hope that it resonates with just one person.
The advice is as follows — now that you are a newly retired person you must embrace your new job title as FIP. This stands for Formerly Important Person. Sure, we all know that you were a VIP in your former life, but the success repeat, the success that you have in this new chapter is how you embrace your new job title of FIP.
My husband and I have had long conversations about this, and our thoughts have certainly changed over time. To summarize:
No one really cares about your old job title, or how important you were — unless, of course, you have some really funny stories or you can donate your expertise to a struggling individual or perhaps a charity.
No one really cares about how much money you made, tell me instead about what charities that you donate to and why. Tell me how you give back to society, that’s what I really want to know.
No one really cares about what kind of car you have, how much it cost, or how loud you can make the engine purr when you exit your driveway, unless of course, you have some epically funny story about how a car repair went wrong, or how you got stranded somewhere.
Please talk to me about your hobbies, the latest book that you have read and why you liked it, tell me what you have learned lately. Tell me about what makes you happy, I love to hear what makes people’s souls sing.
It’s funny, as time moves along, I find that humility and kindness become more important.
Theresa Schuster
Aiken
