This force can determine your retirement outcomes
A superannuation fund CEO I worked for hated the term ‘work/life balance.’ “Am I dead at work?” he complained to me. “Isn’t my career part of my life too?!”
I made sure not to say ‘work/life balance’ to him again.
And when one of my Retirement Coaching clients told me a word he didn’t like because it had a negative connotation for him, I happily dropped that word too, telling him:
“Being precise with our language and clearly communicating what we mean is crucial. It determines the outcome.”
So it is for your retirement planning. Word choice is powerful:
It enables depth of thinking, helping to define what’s important and why
It avoids misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict
It clarifies values and goals
It promotes respect, honesty and trust
It creates a pathway to significant change in life
It exchanges meaning and value
And so on.
It’s like what Mark Twain said:
“The difference between the right word and almost the right work is the difference between lightening and a lightening bug…”
That’s why I endeavour to speak as clearly, precisely and succinctly as my puzzler allows whenever I step into my Retirement Coaching Asylum (or whenever I bump into CEOs I once worked for):