When Elizabeth Parsons talks about retirement, she does not describe slowing down or stepping away. She talks about expansion and possibility.
For her, retirement is about the moment when experience finally catches up with intention. It ought to be the chapter of more, not less.
That belief now anchors her life’s work after 50. As a retirement transition expert, author and coach, Elizabeth helps high achievers navigate the emotional and identity shifts that come when careers end, but purpose still calls.
Her work focuses not on finances, but on meaning, contribution and a redesign of everyday life. Elizabeth knows firsthand how disorienting major transitions can be. Long before she ever advised others, she lived through one herself.
A personal wake-up call
Elizabeth spent the early years of her career on a fast track. She was a Wall Street attorney working long hours in a high-pressure environment that rewarded achievement, endurance and problem-solving. By every external measure, she was successful.
But, success came with tradeoffs. When Elizabeth became a mother, the demands of her legal career collided with her desire to be present for her young children. She reached a moment of reckoning.
“I was very proud of what I had accomplished, but I realized one of these things had to go,” she explained. “And it was not going to be my kids.”
Elizabeth made a bold decision. She left her law career, moved her family from Washington, D.C., to Tucson, Ariz., and told people she was “front-ending retirement.”
“I thought I was borrowing time from the future,” she said. “I figured I could make the money later.”
What she did not anticipate was how deeply the loss of structure, identity and intellectual challenge would affect her once the initial relief faded.
“I found myself utterly lost,” Elizabeth said. “I did not know who I was in a world with open time.”
The struggle beneath the surface
Accustomed to time scarcity, deadlines and external validation, Elizabeth suddenly faced days without a clear measuring stick. She was no longer defined by a title or schedule. Pressure, which had once fueled her, was gone.
“I had always used brute forced to achieve good outcomes,” she said. “But, this was different. I had not planned for who I would become in retirement.”
It took years of reading, reflection and experimentation for Elizabeth to reconstruct a sense of self that made sense again. That personal journey would eventually shape her professional calling.
“I lived it,” she said. “And now I recognize those same challenges when people reach traditional retirement.”
Over time, Elizabeth noticed a pattern among clients and peers. People spent decades preparing financially for retirement, but almost no time preparing emotionally or psychologically.
“Since going to work at our first job, we have been told to save and prepare our money,” she said. “That is necessary, but it is incomplete.”
Thinking differently about retirement
Elizabeth now describes retirement as a transition, not a destination.
“It is not a new identity, rather it is just moving through a change,” she explained. “When the measuring stick goes away, it can feel existential.”
In her work, she focuses on two core challenges that nearly everyone faces when leaving a long career. The first is identity bridging. People who have spent years solving problems for others and receiving third party validation often struggle when that framework disappears.
The second challenge is life restructuring. Work often serves as the scaffolding of daily life. When it disappears, days can feel unmoored unless new structures are intentionally designed.
“If you pull the scaffolding out with no plan, everything is in a jumble,” she said. “You must become the architect of your own life.”
Elizabeth helps clients redesign their days, weeks and years so they feel purposeful and self-directed. The goal is not perfection, but ownership.
Why high achievers struggle most
Elizabeth’s work often centers on people who identify as high achievers. These are individuals accustomed to challenge, productivity and recognition. Retirement can feel especially unsettling for them.
“They are used to being rewarded for hard effort,” she said. “When that goes away, it can be disorienting.”
She sees this frequently among men whose identities are closely tied to their careers. Many have not cultivated multiple roles or sources of meaning outside work.
Women, she noted, often bring greater adaptability due to juggling multiple roles over a lifetime, including motherhood, relationships and careers. Yet, no one is immune.
Elizabeth also emphasizes the importance of involving spouses and families in the transition process. Retirement changes household dynamics, schedules and expectations.
“One spouse comes home and suddenly tries to run the household like a workplace,” she said. “That creates friction fast.”
Preparing before the leap
Elizabeth encourages people to begin preparing for retirement 12 to 18 months before leaving work. That window allows for gradual change, rather than abrupt loss.
“You can lay pavement for the future from a place of strength,” she explained. “You cannot keep the same patterns that got you here because you are in a transitional phase.”
That might include tapering work hours, mentoring others, exploring interests or simply allowing space on the calendar for personal pursuits. She also urges people to talk openly about their plans rather than keeping retirement a secret.
“This is a group affair,” she said. “When you talk about what is next, pathways light up.”
The power of connection
One of the most meaningful aspects of Elizabeth’s work involves helping people rebuild connection after leaving professional environments. Isolation is a common risk in retirement.
“When you lose communities overnight, confidence can drop fast,” she explained.
Elizabeth encourages clients to reactivate dormant friendships and use curiosity as a bridge to new relationships. Asking for advice or sharing interests often opens unexpected doors.
She has seen lives transformed through simple conversations that lead to new communities, creative pursuits and collaborations.
“It creates rich networks people never imagined,” she said.
Redefining success after 50
Perhaps the most profound shift Elizabeth helps people make involves redefining success itself. Without promotions or paychecks, traditional markers disappear.
“You lose your positive feedback loops,” she said. “So, you must ask different questions, such as, ‘Am I living in the direction that matters to me?’”
Elizabeth guides clients toward qualitative measures of fulfillment. These include relationships, learning, contribution and creative challenge. Those questions become personal yardsticks. They cannot be quantified, but they provide clarity.
A belief in possibility
Elizabeth’s belief in what is possible after 50 is grounded in real stories. One client, a real estate lawyer in his mid-50s, once told her his dream was to become a Broadway producer and win a Tony Award.
She encouraged him to explore it anyway. Three years later, he stood on stage accepting a Tony Award as an executive producer. Stories like that fuel Elizabeth’s work today.
“He thought it was ridiculous,” Elizabeth said. “But, he was the only one who thought he could not do it.”
Living with intention
Today, Elizabeth finds meaning and purpose in guiding others through this pivotal season of life. She speaks, writes and leads programs that help people step into their encore years with clarity and confidence.
She has developed multiple program formats, from private two-day sessions to group experiences fostering shared insight and community. Her book, “Encore: A High Achiever’s Guide to Thriving in Retirement,” describes the frameworks she uses with clients.
What brings her fulfillment now is witnessing transformation.
“I love seeing the moment when someone realizes this is not the end,” Elizabeth said. “It is the beginning of something richer.”
For more information
People can connect with Elizabeth on these platforms:
- Website = www.zelinkaparsons.com
- Book website = www.zelinkaparsons.com/encore-book
- LinkedIn = www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-zelinka-parsons-3b58a52
Elizabeth’s book, “Encore: A High Achiever’s Guide to Thriving in Retirement,” is available on Amazon and in other bookstores.
If you order Elizabeth’s book from a link above, Forward From 50 may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
