退休真的需要勇氣嗎？

????清理辦公室時，我反復摩挲著工作以來獲得的各種獎勵，它們是我職業成就的見證。最后，我把它們都留在了那里。我不想頭戴著企業管理的成功桂冠走進新生活。我會帶著過往事業的無形資產：建立、指導一家機構，打造有效的關系，對人、理念和實體進行正確定位以取得成功。但基本上我滿懷好奇心和熱情，這些曾經在職業生涯上推動我前進的特質將指引我未來的生活。

????或許，父母的榜樣示范讓我輕松地就跨出了這一步。他們早早就退休了，過起了充實精彩而富有挑戰性的生活。而且，我早有規劃。我在財務上對退休做出了規劃，但更重要的是，我也設立了一些目標。我在規劃中將生活分為五個部分：事業（董事會，偶有項目，等等）；旅行（我和丈夫有一些探險目的地名單，至少可以忙到下個十年）；組織（簡化我們生活的方方面面）；創意（寫作，一、兩個家庭項目）；最后，技能（學習或重新學習如何講流利的法語，航海……對了，還有打高爾夫）。

????擁有一項長期的規劃，令我更渴望投身其中。不過，確實有外部的推動因素，包括父親生病等一系列事件表明，現在是時候來付諸實施了。不是明年。就是現在。因此，我大膽地離開了，但并不是因為勇氣。

????海蒂?辛克萊爾從業30年后最近退休了，她曾擔任比爾與梅琳達蓋茨基金會（Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation）首席傳播官、博雅（Burson-Marsteller）EMEA首席執行官和萬博宣偉（Weber Shandwick）全球科技總裁。她目前擔任Bag Borrow or Steal、Bodymetrics、Concordia Coffee 和Portero Luxury的董事，經常就創新、傳媒和人生等話題進行寫作，發表演講。

????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.