Celebrating Next – Carole Watkins

It is our mission at Lifelaunch Consulting to help others define their ‘next’ with purpose and intention, and to celebrate as a new chapter unfolds. As part of this, we maintain a blog featuring our friends who have successfully navigated the move from ‘now’ to ‘next’ and are thriving as a result! It is our hope that by sharing these stories, we inspire others to live their lives to the fullest.

Name:

Carole Watkins

My pre-retirement career:

Chief Human Resources Officer, Cardinal Health

Three ways I spend my time in retirement:

More time with family, more focus on exercise and diet, serving on boards and focus on volunteer work.

What I love most about retirement:

Getting 7 – 8 hours of sleep each night. I truly did not know how wonderful this is!

My biggest challenge with retirement:

Saying no. I get calls for consulting and help. Since I had dedicated a good part of my career in doing this work and helping others be successful, I found it hard to say no. Once I learned to say no, it was freeing and I found I could do so without hurting relationships.

What I did to prepare for retirement:

First, I made sure the transition to the leader that took my place was smooth and the she would continue to focus on development of my team. This gave me comfort and allowed me to let go easier. I also promised myself and my family and closest friends that I would take at least the first 9 months to a year to focus on us and finding things to fill my day that bring me joy! I also told my husband that he should not come home from work and ask me “what did you do today” as he might imply no judgement, but I would only hear judgement. So instead he can ask “how was your day”!

Something I’ve recently done for the first time:

Took my daughter to Greece – because I could and neither of us had ever been!

Most recent book/article I’ve read:

The New Retirement and Hillbilly Elegy.

My future:

Is so exciting! We are downsizing our home here in Columbus and building a home in Florida

My advice for future retirees:

Don’t overplan. Allow yourself time to settle into your new normal. Instead of thinking about “retirement” in the old sense, think about repurposing your time on things, activities and people you care most about and that bring you joy!

Do you know someone who is Celebrating Next? Drop us a line at jzogbaum@lifelaunchconsulting.com.