Pioneers seek change because they envision something better: more promising, more meaningful, more delightful. Our ancestors were courageous to step out into the unknown across the oceans and across the land. We do not all have the pioneer spirit, however. Have you ever tried to move an animal from behind? Push a mule from behind and all four feet become planted, the critter resisting with every molecule within. Unfortunately and often in this world, the mule is simply beaten to make it move. Some of us are like that when faced with change. Calling a move rightsizing when it is really downsizing is a 1990s deception visited on the general public when large corporations tried to justify and soften thousands of layoffs. The two are really different ideas altogether. Downsizing is a reactive movement, whereas rightsizing is a proactive movement. Bringing business language into an individual’s life is an interesting process. Often we just do not have the right words to explain or understand things, and business terms can help. While the origin of downsize/rightsize is in business, the ideas are intriguing to us. We feel depressed and sad when we think about downsizing as it applies to our own lives. We feel like we are becoming less. We are losing, and we dwell on our miseries, of which downsizing is just one more. The indications show that we are living in the past. As in business, when we feel forced to downsize, we simply endure the process until settled in the new, lesser life. We often think but do not say, “Another nail in the coffin.” It is no wonder that when our well-meaning relatives try to push us into downsizing, we are like the mule being pushed from behind. We resist with all of our being until we get tired of fighting. Then we give up and may give up on our future happiness. Sadly we do not realize it is only one way of looking at change. In contrast, rightsizing is a creative and ever-exciting journey of adjusting one’s life to serve at the highest levels: physical surroundings, optimum health, meaningful relationships and life purpose. (Yes, as long as you live you have a life purpose.)
In fact, rightsizing is “la mode” right now, and it is a good thing. The world is rightsizing: cities, vehicles, packaging, classrooms, budgets, gardens, libraries, government, homes and data centers. We can observe and plan for our own rightsizing opportunities when they show up. Studies show us that rightsizing is dynamic, not a single event. On a personal level it can be ongoing and very satisfying. Rightsizers live in the now and in the positive possibilities. In the 1980s, one in five families moved every year. The number dropped drastically because of economics in the 1990s and 2000, but starting when boomers hit the magic retirement age of 65, people are moving again. The 2013 U.S. Census Bureau statistics show nearly 12 percent of Americans moved in the prior year. Children are gone from the large homes, and many boomers feel it is their time to run free. The big homes are sold, smaller condos are purchased. Some even try living in other countries and are becoming global citizens. Boomers are finding a great deal of enjoyment in their freedom and often urge their parents to uproot and do likewise. It works best, though, if uprooting is a person’s own idea. Remember the mule? The most satisfying moves are those that are the end result of a carefully thought-out plan initiated by the one who is moving. If we sort our possessions methodically, it can even be a pleasant experience as we remember the circumstances, especially with souvenirs and collectibles. We can set our minds and a list for doing every week. We can start investigating our next home. We can draw up a room plan of a new place and see which pieces of furniture fit where. We can sell items using eBay and Craigslist. We can gift unworn valuables to family or favorite causes. We can donate unused items to charities that will come to you and pick them up. This cleaning out can even have a beneficial impact on your taxes because some gifts are tax deductible. As you make the choice of downsizing or rightsizing, remember that if you decide to go along the downsizing path, you will likely feel a sense of loss, of being forced to give up your home and your things. If you choose the rightsizing path, you are in control. You call the shots. You choose when to move, where to move and what to bring along. You have the choices and all the freedom. What a wonderful feeling – all the choices and all the freedom. Should you ever doubt launching yourself into a new life, remember the mule! The Retirement Concierge offers estate settlement coordination assistance as a team member of attorneys, trustees and fiduciaries. We do not offer legal, financial or tax advice. We wrote A 10-Step Action Plan for Defining Your Mission, helping boomers on the verge of retirement to plan, make and manage life transitions by guiding them through a systematic process of discovery and re-creation where they write their own rules, make their own plans and reinvent their own lives. TheRetirementConcierge.com, (619) 818-8575.