FW: [Ailist] AI for planning life after retirement

[Mary Gergen]

Hello all,  Oh my,  those emotions on transition to retirement, and, of
course, recognized the stages Kubler-Ross identified as those found among
the dying..Yikes... "some excitement" aside,   this is certainly starting in
the Hades of emotional life... Of course, some people   have trepidation and
resistance to retirement.. esp. if they have never had any good experiences
outside of work..However, from a constructionist perspective, (why not??)
this stage of life is open to being created as many things.. most of them
new and wonderful.  One can begin by imagining what opportunities are
availed if one did not have to "punch that clock" every morning.  A close
friend was telling me today about how he feels with the start of a new
semester, when he is going to his office, but not teaching. He "retired"
last year. He mentioned that he was really enjoying the day, not rushing
through campus with a million things to do, and no time to visit with a
colleague or stop to admire the new landscaping.  He doesn't feel the
anxiety that comes with giving classes, and he played tennis instead of
working on a lecture this afternoon.  He is finishing a book right now,
which gives him a great deal of pleasure, and he is off to Spain for most of
October.  I am involved in the same new creation of a lifestyle; it is quite
liberating.  
    I would recommend as a good start to reorient thoughts about aging that
one read the Positive Aging Newsletter, which is dedicated to the
proposition that the last third of life can be the most developmentally rich
and wonderful one of all. Send me an email if you wish to subscribe... it is
a totally biased view about the benefits of aging, with research, news,
events, book reviews, etc.  One of our readers, a young philosopher, Bob
Hill,  sent   some lines he translated from Cicero that describes some of
his views on aging:
  
1. To those lacking the inner resources necessary for a fulfilling and happy
way of life, every age is risky.  To those realizing all their wealth
within, nothing can seem a hazard.
 
2.  Nature, having scripted so well the other parts of life, is not likely
to have neglected the last act, like some hack playwright.  Rather, there
would have to be a sense of an ending; fruits from the tree, produce of the
earth, readied by the fullness of time, to be born gently away by the wise
man, ripened and ready to fall.
 
3 Older people who are well-balanced, and neither inflexible nor
close-minded, find aging manageable, while those lacking a sense of
graciousness and cosmopolitan outlook will find every period of life
oppressive.
       
    To me, the AI questions that come to mind are those that encourage
explorations of the fruits of life .. time, adventure, leisure, learning,
contentment, intrigue, novelty, familiarity, and reconnecting to forgotten
passions and preoccupations.  Best wishes, Mary Gergen
 

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------ Forwarded Message
From: <Lora.Haak at kraft.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 15:21:36 -0400
To: <ailist at lists.business.utah.edu>
Conversation: AI for planning life after retirement
Subject: [Ailist] AI for planning life after retirement

Hi Everyone:
 
I was wondering what great questions you have used when helping people
think through an impending retirement. As they transition through
denial, possibly anger, fear of the unknown, and towards some excitement
- how can AI be used to help the transition go smoothly and spark some
creative thinking about one's next "chapter".
 
Looking forward to your responses!
 



Lora Haak 
Director Organization Development
 KNAM, Kraft North American Manufacturing
Three Lakes Drive, 
Northfield, Illinois
(847) 646-8406 

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