How do I deal with the awareness that I might be past my peak?
What you need to know:
- Grappling with the awareness of decline can be daunting. It can be laden with introspection, anxiety, a sense of loss or even regret for some individuals.
- This juncture however presents an opportunity for renaissance, which calls for a recalibration of expectations and reframing of personal reality.
- Rather than viewing one’s descent as a decline, it could be construed as a shift into different realms, including mentorship.
Is there really a phenomenon such as a peak season in one's career? I am an MD of a local branch of a multinational. How do I deal with the awareness that I might be past my peak as I approach retirement?
The trajectory of a career often resembles a sine curve, with highs and lows that, for some, culminate in a discernible peak season. Such a peak is often characterised by optimal performance, recognition, personal influence and perhaps a heightened sense of fulfilment. The concept of a career "peak" can however be misleading as it may carry connotations of a static pinnacle when, in reality, individuals can evolve, adapt, and redefine success over time. The concept of a peak season is therefore nuanced and subjective.
Further along the contours of time comes the contemplation of an inevitable descent from one’s career summit, particularly as retirement dawns. Depending on the field of activity, sports for instance, one’s career apex may coincide with a particular age or experience level. Some careers may exhibit clear peaks, while others may follow more gradual or fluid trajectories.
Grappling with the awareness of decline can be daunting. It can be laden with introspection, anxiety, a sense of loss or even regret for some individuals. This juncture however presents an opportunity for renaissance, which calls for a recalibration of expectations and reframing of personal reality. Rather than viewing one’s descent as a decline, it could be construed as a shift into different realms, including mentorship. Finding ways to impart the wisdom acquired over the years to nascent talent can lend meaning to the twilight of one’s career.
To assuage the onslaught of withdrawal symptoms following the delirium of an illustrious career peak, one could consider some questions: What does life as it is now mean for me? What could I do with what I have become?
Cultivating awareness and adaptability can help to ensure that one’s descent is not a precipitous fall but a metamorphosis consistent with the arc of life. In the end, we are on stage only for a while. To borrow from a discourse in an episode of The Crown: ‘For though we wish our splendour to be everlasting, no thing must remain of what is passed’.
Fred is a HR practitioner
