7 LESSONS FROM INDORAMA RETIREES

Written by Maple Dappa

 

I was certain that they were all above 50, possibly the youngest among them was 55 years old. They looked well-fed, they were jovial, and of course, they were all old enough to father me. My colleague accompanied me there and we were both pleasantly surprised to see her Dad as one of these amazing men. My guess was that they all started working in their 20s because they’ve all worked for about 30years.

 

They were employees of Indorama, a multinational firm, at a training session organised to prepare them for retirement. I was invited to facilitate the session on relationships and networking. At first, the look on their faces was “this young man, has he seen what we’ve seen? has he experienced retirement before? well, let’s hear him out”. To break the ice and help them get into the mood, I acknowledged the age gap and voiced the thoughts I perceive they had on their minds. It worked, as I saw them ease down in anticipation.

 

In Africa, Fathers typically talk to their Sons, but there was a context and opportunity for a Son to talk to his Fathers. I had once spoken to Professors and Senior Lecturers at the university I graduated from during a breakfast meeting, and the Professor who was VC in my time was quietly seated in the audience as well. So, I was very mindful of this privilege as I led these would-be retirees into my presentation. They paid rapt attention and kept nodding their heads to my thoughts and illustrations on how to rekindle old friendships, start new friendships and connections, be more involved with their family, the sober look on their faces reflected the reality of transiting into retirement.

 

Some of them had turned their back on their old friends as they went neck dip in the corporate world, and then they didn’t really create good connections at work. Many of the work relationships they’ve had will end as they go into retirement.

 

So the major concern was how to forge new relationships and revive old ones. Some of them will always be missed by colleagues, others who were too curved into themselves will probably fade away into oblivion. One thing we all agreed on as I concluded was that relationships matter.

 

When I was done, many of them walked toward me and shook my hands with gratitude and said things like “you did a great job, this was really timely, needed and very helpful. God bless you.”

Below are seven lessons I gleaned from that experience:

1. Good relationships are more valuable than money.

2. 30years is not such a long time as we may think. Start investing as soon you can in relationships, assets, etc

3. Each birthday you celebrate, your energy level and agility is dropping. What safety nets are you weaving for yourself?

4. Procrastination could last you an entire 30years. Do what you have to do, at once.

5. Habits you don’t form now may be harder in your later years.

6. Listen to elders, they have a wealth of experiences that will serve you a lifetime.

7. Live life to the fullest in each passing moment, you can’t rewind time.

I hope you found this helpful in some way.

Your Co-Traveler,
Mister Maple