Words Matter

WORDS MATTER

We all know the choice of a word can matter. But that’s very general, what more can be said? A word may be precise in its meaning but lack an emotional appeal, while a word that appeals emotionally may lack precision. Here is a simple example. The word “tractor” has a precise meaning but little appeal (to my ears), however “fair” has a strong fragrance yet is imprecise as it can mean many things.

The balancing act between precision and appeal is not simple to accomplish. But as you will see very soon it is an important balance to strike.

I recently had the chance to conduct a poll in which I asked people to vote on a potential term to replace the word Retirement. I'll come back to why a replacement for the word Retirement is a good idea. But first the four replacement terms chosen were:

·      Adventure

·      Work detox

·      Post work

·      Renaissance

Why does the word “Retirement” need to be retired? Apparently the term Retirement is a mediaeval French word to describe how a person - after a life of work – might withdraw to a monastery to contemplate life.

And although many might not be aware of this etymology, I know from years of experience as a Retirement Coach, that the word Retirement is freighted with enough negativity to be off putting. That association may even make people reluctant to engage fully with life in Retirement.

Back to the poll. Adventure and Work detox came a distant last, while Post work came a close second to Renaissance, which was the winner.

So what's wrong with Adventure and Work detox? To analyse this I want to return to our discussion of precision vs appeal in a word. I suspect Adventure sounds temporary in duration and in fact reminds me of what I talk about often, which is the honeymoon period of retirement. The honeymoon period tends to last a few months and then poses the question “What next”. On the other hand, Work detox is such a negative expression. I wonder was anyone's job all that bad?

Let's move to the winner’s circle. Post work is a very precise term that probably suffers from its precision. It says almost nothing in terms of what can come after a working life and the potential for good things to emerge.

However, Renaissance has an exciting and pertinent feel to it. I think also, being associated with a glorious and critical phase of history, it shines brightly in peoples’ minds. Although historians sometimes argue that the Renaissance wasn't everything it was cracked up to be and, in particular, the Dark Ages had a bit of light about them.

In summary, words matter. That polarity of precision and appeal is a good one to investigate. As the poll results suggest the word Renaissance is probably more effective than Retirement. Which makes me think I could rename my on-line self-study course.

Finding Joy in Your Renaissance. Hmmm. Perhaps.

What do you think? Do you have another word to replace Retirement? Let me know: jon@64plus.com.au