Feeling Restless After Retirement? (And How To Fix It)

Feeling restless after retirement is one of the most common experiences among retirees. I have felt it, and for sure, you have gone through it as well. Retirement is supposed to be a calm, joyful life with freedom all day long.

And it is!

Feeling restless after retirement has nothing to do with those admirable attributes, but something deeper, and if not tackled the right way, it could easily turn your retirement into a nightmare.

In my previous article, we talked about the four phases we all go through as retirees. The restlessness usually occurs when you finish what I call the “vacation” period. Think back for a while to all your years in the corporate world. After well-deserved vacations, you returned to work. But beyond the word “work,” something else was coming back to you:

Structure
Schedules
Commitment

You got your job for a reason. Your skills, knowledge, and experience were aligned with the position you were hired for, and a detailed job description was created. All you did could be connected back to your job description. And for the work you did, you were paid; you received a monthly salary.

To Be Restless After Retirement Is a Choice

You have not failed when you feel restless after retirement. As a retiree, what is happening is that structure, schedules, and commitment disappear. That lovely “vacation” period comes to an end, sooner or later.

Life starts to feel empty. It’s not enough to spend days playing golf with friends or diving deep into your favorite hobby. All these activities are good because they keep you busy, but deep down, an intangible voice begins to talk to you.

“You need something more.”

And whatever it could be lurking around in your mind, it can be boiled down to one word:

Growth!

Your brain has been trained for years in your job, or should I say brainwashed, to achieve results. Without that goal in mind, all efforts seem meaningless. Why should it be different in retirement?

So, how to fix that?

Defining your identity with purpose

The first action you need to take is the most important, and it may take some time to get right.

A simple way to do it is to use two pieces of paper. For the first one, you should randomly write down all the activities you really love to do. Activities that you could do endlessly and enjoy doing. Let your ideas just flow without any barrier.

In the second paper, you do the opposite. Put down all types of activities you don’t like to do. They get you bored and unmotivated.

Now, take the two papers and search for a pattern. It’s an interesting exercise. Among other things, you will find that to do something you are really passionate about, the path sometimes goes through boring steps. That’s how life is. Sometimes the route to achieving “like-to-do” activities goes through some “boring” tasks.

Don’t rush through this exercise. It can take days or even weeks before you can clearly and honestly say, “This is my purpose.” This is what I would like to do for the rest of my life.

Contribution

With a clear purpose defined, you are on your way to defining your new identity as a retiree. This is the first step toward erasing the feeling of restlessness after retirement.

With your new identity, meaning- and purposeful, what to do with it?

This phase is entirely personal to each person applying the method. In my case, I concluded that what I enjoyed doing during my corporate time was a true passion of mine. At first, my humble mindset led me to think this was applicable to me, but then I found something interesting.

By Googling around a while, it came out that there was a huge demand for what I knew better than anyone else. People who would like to learn what I know. Is there a way to share my knowledge and experience?

Yes, there is!

Endless growth

When you reach this stage, you will start thinking in a particular direction. How can you get your unique skills out to the world? As a typical retiree who didn’t grow up in the digital era, I took some time to consider whether the Internet could be a way to go.

After a while, as I explained in various of my earlier articles, an online business was born. The golden Age Lifestyle, which has been alive for more than a decade, became my route to a purposeful retirement life, meaning, and joy every day. I just love what I’m doing.

As time goes by, I find new angels all the time to grow my business, and best of all, goodbye to the feeling of restlessness after retirement.

I did it my way, and if you find it interesting, try it out here.

Discipline – The Missing Piece to Avoid Feeling Restless After Retirement

Retired with plenty of free time. You have gone through the “vacation” phases and found your purpose and new identity as a retiree. However, without discipline, it will fall apart like an unstable playing card house.

In this video, I will give you 5 simple steps to maintain your discipline and reach your goals.

“Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing.”

John C. Maxwell

Stay disciplined and enjoy your retirement.

Your next step: Watch the free video series about how to turn a successful career into a successful retirement by applying discipline.

Wrapping up Restlessness in Retirement

Retirement is the best chapter of your life. You have worked for years and accumulated plenty of skills, experience, and knowledge. That’s your unique asset as a retiree, if you use it properly.

Apply the same working frame as during your corporate time: