As we move through life, retire, or just move on to new things, we become affected by lack of action or activity, lack of mental stimulation and lack of engagement with people, places and things. Some reading this aren’t there yet, most are. For those that aren’t, prepare yourself.
Energy dissipates and disillusionment, boredom and often isolation move in and become normal. We are not used to the isolation, boredom and even depression that too often comes to older adults as they retire and move into a new phase of life.
This happens to ALL seniors at one point or another. Some move through it as a temporary phase. For many, or even most others, it becomes a long term problem and we want and need to move through it.
We have been active. Working. Projects. Doing things. But now, most of that is beginning to be behind us. Yet, we still crave the activity and action.
Like the soldier who has been in combat, when the battles are over. He or she thinks . . . WHAT NEXT? WHERE’S THE ACTION? After all, what can be as exciting as being in combat, in action, with my friends. You have come from a place of excitement to a place of dullness, boredom, lack of fulfillment and purpose. What’s next
Or how about athletes who have come to the end of their active participation? What can they do? They deteriorate. They stop working out. They stop eating for performance. They become inactive, sedentary and dull. Their bodies expand and the alertness from being on the field disappears. They often look for “experiences” that match the excitement on the field but can’t seem to find them. What next?
Or you. You have had a stimulating job or project and now it is going or gone. You pretty much enjoyed it but it’s time to move on. You want something new and different. What Next?
But there are things that can make you come alive again. One doesn’t have to go to war to feel active and useful. One doesn’t have to be an ex-Olympian, or ex-NFL player to recover that feeling of aliveness. What next?
Here are some thoughts:
There are activities that Seniors can engage in. There are Community activities one can engage in. There are volunteer opportunities. My wife has been a volunteer at the local hospital for many, many years and gets a huge sense of accomplishment as a result. She also continued as a substitute teacher in the local school system for over 15 years after active duty in the classroom for 34 years.
You can engage in a legacy project. What do you really enjoy doing? What are you good at? The Come Alive Project is my own legacy project. I’m helping inspire seniors to keep their Personal Energy at a high level and live a healthy, fit, energetic, enthusiastic and engaged Senior life. I do it through writing, speaking and soon . . . some video. I have done a number of mini-workshops for Senior Groups and participated in a local Health Fair. It keeps me active.
There are also sports and athletic activities available for Seniors. Many are ardent golfers and make golf a part of their lifestyle. The sport of “Pickleball” is growing exponentially in the senior community. Many community tennis facilities are converting at least one court for Pickleball. There are others.
I have friends my age who serve on community boards, who ski, who consult doing what they did in their jobs, who have online businesses, who have started new solopreneur ventures. There is a lot for Seniors to do in the real world to eliminate boredom, and provide those missing qualities of Action/Activity, Mental Stimulation and Engagement that we tend to lose when we move into that new stage of “Seniorhood”. But we have to either look for them or create them. For the most part, they won’t come to us.
As I wrote in the opening paragraph, many reading this message aren’t quite at that point yet, but many are. If you are not there yet, start preparing now.
Thank you for reading.