Becoming "Well Aware" of Your Retirement

Carol Ebert, MSN, RN

AWARENESS is the first step before you can take any kind of action. If you don't know what you need, you won't know what action to take. There are always signs that indicate you are ready for change but sometimes we miss them, disregard them, misinterpret them or blame others for them. Here's an example.

In my last job as an employee, I had a great reign for 18 years as a wellness specialist for a major medical center. It was a dream job because my boss, who was a visionary, believed in empowering his employees to determine what needed to get done and then left us alone to do it the best we could. For me that was a gift, because I am very creative and work best when I can control my destiny and am not micro-managed. Our department did great things during his tenure and we were all very productive, had a lot of fun and loved coming to work every day. But then things changed.

A corporate merger occurred, my boss moved on, our team was split up and we were all sent to other departments to work. I was miserable. But I told myself I could stick it out for the next 5 years until I could take an early retirement. Besides I needed the paycheck and benefits! Well that idea lasted for about 2 years when I started to succumb to stress-related disorders that required multiple referrals to physicians, occupational therapy, and finally to a counselor where I was told to learn to live with pain.

Finally, the light bulb went off and I realized I had become someone whom I am not. I am not a person who is in pain, has no joy in my work, has a negative attitude, has lost her creativity and hates to go to work every day. Instead, I am a happy, positive, creative person who loves creating exciting and meaningful programs that help people lead better lives. So what happened to the real me? (Does this ring true for you?)

Apparently I had to be in so much pain that I finally got it. AWARENESS occurred and I knew I had to change. Here's a helpful quote from Abraham-Hicks that says it all.

Sometimes your Source will lead you to an awareness of a problem because it is part of the path to the solution.

I now recognized the path I was on was not only wrong for me, but my health had taken a toll as well. And Nurse Wellness (AKA - ME!) was always a health role model so I knew I had lost myself somewhere along the way. Time to take charge and do what I needed to do to get back to being ME! So I took some vacation time, had a heart-to-heart talk with myself (and my financial advisor), discussed my options with the HR Department and learned I could take an early retirement immediately. Talk about having a new lease on life!

With that weight lifted, I was able to create my exit strategy and start taking steps to move out of that job and into my next adventure as a wellness business owner. Note - within 6 months of leaving that nightmare, all my stress-related symptoms disappeared. A big message that we are able to heal ourselves once we become AWARE of what our symptoms are telling us.

Quote
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things they are transformed. Thich Nhat Hanh

So what about you? Does my experience resonate with your life experience? What is your story? How did you become aware of your need to change? What steps did you take? Would love to have you share so we all can learn from each other.

Becoming "Well Aware" of Your Retirement

About Carol Ebert, MSN, RN

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