Retirement: Life’s Greatest Adventure Curing boredom by doing something meaningful

Many seniors experience boredom from time to time.  Others are not aware of it but are nonetheless frequently bored.  Why are seniors bored and what can they do about it?

Boredom is simply the opposite of being active.  It results from having little or nothing to do, or from doing the same things over and over again.  Working people rarely are bored because they are usually too busy.  However, with retirement, boredom can become an ongoing problem.

For most people, retirement brings dramatic changes to one’s lifestyle.  Retirees often welcome the inactivity that comes with ceasing work and appreciate the opportunity to “take it easy” for a while after years of the daily grind.  However, continued inactivity in the months following retirement can bring on bad habits.

For instance, a retiree may spend too much time sleeping, or napping, or watching TV, or just doing nothing.  Sometimes this leads to a feeling that common activities like shopping, doing the laundry, doing chores, or running errands are important activities.  Many people in this situation fool themselves into thinking that they are busy people.  But these kinds of activities are not stimulating or fun or even important. Thus they become boring.  A person needs to get some satisfaction or the feeling of accomplishing something to be truly busy.  The feeling of satisfaction or accomplishment is the cure for boredom.

A person’s working life involves making a living, supporting one’s family, and dealing with financial or professional goals, all of which make life exciting.  Some kind of work for pay or to accomplish something has the same positive impact for a retiree.  However, the best kinds of activities for a retiree are also fun and simulating.

A retiree should strive to find activities with a purpose, such as leading to physical fitness, mental effort, or emotional excitement.  Trying new things, engaging in the process of learning, becoming involved in something, setting goals of accomplishment, or giving back to the community or an organization are all ways to drive away boredom.

These kinds of activities provide a two-fold reward.  Besides curing boredom, they often contribute to one’s fitness, whether it is physical, mental or emotional.  An extra benefit is that the opposite of boredom may actually be happiness.