退休真的需要勇气吗？

    清理办公室时，我反复摩挲着工作以来获得的各种奖励，它们是我职业成就的见证。最后，我把它们都留在了那里。我不想头戴着企业管理的成功桂冠走进新生活。我会带着过往事业的无形资产：建立、指导一家机构，打造有效的关系，对人、理念和实体进行正确定位以取得成功。但基本上我满怀好奇心和热情，这些曾经在职业生涯上推动我前进的特质将指引我未来的生活。

    或许，父母的榜样示范让我轻松地就跨出了这一步。他们早早就退休了，过起了充实精彩而富有挑战性的生活。而且，我早有规划。我在财务上对退休做出了规划，但更重要的是，我也设立了一些目标。我在规划中将生活分为五个部分：事业（董事会，偶有项目，等等）；旅行（我和丈夫有一些探险目的地名单，至少可以忙到下个十年）；组织（简化我们生活的方方面面）；创意（写作，一、两个家庭项目）；最后，技能（学习或重新学习如何讲流利的法语，航海……对了，还有打高尔夫）。

    拥有一项长期的规划，令我更渴望投身其中。不过，确实有外部的推动因素，包括父亲生病等一系列事件表明，现在是时候来付诸实施了。不是明年。就是现在。因此，我大胆地离开了，但并不是因为勇气。

    海蒂•辛克莱尔从业30年后最近退休了，她曾担任比尔与梅琳达盖茨基金会（Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation）首席传播官、博雅（Burson-Marsteller）EMEA首席执行官和万博宣伟（Weber Shandwick）全球科技总裁。她目前担任Bag Borrow or Steal、Bodymetrics、Concordia Coffee 和Portero Luxury的董事，经常就创新、传媒和人生等话题进行写作，发表演讲。

    As I cleaned out my office, I lingered over the treasures of my working life: awards, framed totems to my achievements. In the end, I left them all behind. I do not want to carry a shrine to my executive success into my new life. I am bringing the intangibles of my career with me: the ability to build and guide an organization, to create impactful relationships and to position people, ideas and entities for success. But mostly, I filled my box with the curiosity and passion that has always driven me professionally and now guides what is next in my life.

    Perhaps what has made it an easy leap for me is that I have terrific role models in my parents who retired early to live amazing, full, challenging lives. And I had a plan. I planned for this retirement financially but more importantly, I set some goals. For my plan, I broke down my life into five categories: professional (the boards, occasional projects, etc.), travel (my husband and I have a little bucket list of adventures that will take us through a least the next decade), organizational (simplifying every aspect of our lives), creative (writing, a family project or two) and finally, skills (acquiring or relearning to speak French fluently, to sail…and yes, to play golf).

    Having a long term plan made me eager to get on with it. Yet it took a push, a series of circumstances including my father's illness that said it is time to be done. Not next year. Now. So I am shoving off boldly, but not bravely.

    Heidi Sinclair recently retired after a 30-year career that included serving as Chief Communications Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CEO for Burson-Marsteller EMEA and President of Weber Shandwick Global Technology. She is on the board of directors for Bag Borrow or Steal, Bodymetrics, Concordia Coffee and Portero Luxury and frequently writes and speaks about innovation, media and life.