Re-Tire-Ment
When athletic phenom, Serena Williams, decided to walk away from professional tennis at the age of 40, she couldn’t say the word “retire.” “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution,” she told the press.
I like it. She had somewhere (that may or may not have been clearly defined at the time) to go.
Retirement is a sleepy word with implications of a hard stop. We “retire” at the end of a long day. We “retire” shoes that have a broken heel, clothes that no longer fit, hats that have gone out of style. A baseball team, once they acquire three outs, is said to “retire the side.” Inferring, of course, that the batters no longer get to bat. The word “retire,” per definition, means to leave, to cease or to withdraw.
First round doubles action from the Women's draw at the 2013 US Open. Serena and Venus Williams defeated Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Carla Suarez Navarro; 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-3
If words had a shape, “retire” would be flat, and its color would be almost-invisible gray.
I prefer to see it out the other side of my eye.
A simple change in syllabic emphasis gives the word “retire” a reflated connotation. What if instead of reTIREing, we elected to RE-tire?
Same body, same engine, entirely different treads.
Swapping the wheels out can be daunting, especially when the relied upons have accounted for many miles, but change, while almost always scary, happens throughout our lives. We crawl for a while, then we walk, then not long after that we run. And people applaud our graduations! Rightly so. Like bicycles, we weren’t built to stand still.
But something strange happens when a professional person decides to RE-tire. Instead of clapping and cheering for your re-invention, it can feel like the world shovels dirt on your head instead. Or maybe that’s just the way we tell the story to ourselves. Maybe such poor framing stems from how we pronounce that word.
In 2018, Dunkin’ Donuts decided they wanted to be known for more than deep fried bread with a hole in the middle and sugar on top. They craved to be the on-the-go beverage spot for champions. So they dropped “Donuts” from their name. Some folks have had the hardest time with letting go of that.
Corporations re-brand all the time. They keep learning. They keep growing. They keep on keeping on and their titles must reflect their change in course. The home services company known as Angi’s, started out as Angi’s List. When the company was founded, a compilation of certified and trusted contractors was an innovative business model. Over time, however, the company grew to be much more than a list of preferred providers. So Angi lopped the “list” off their name. They weren’t only who they used to be anymore. They had grown to serve all sorts of needs.
Serena is modeling for us a graceful, intentional evolution. She’s changed her tires, but she’s still going strong. We’re not supposed to be tomorrow who we are today.
Transitioning is an all-the-time thing.