“Restless, nearly retired, discarded, and bewildered.”

I found that phrase in Barbara Hagerty’s book, “Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife.” It describes many in the baby-boomer generation and the tone of numerous conversations I’ve had with prospective career or retirement coaching clients.

If you are at that mid-life point, you’ll be an outlier (or just plain liar) if you haven’t had some or all of these feelings.

Marc Freedman is CEO and founder of Encore.org, an organization that created the Encore movement linking middle-aged and older people with meaningful work that serves the social good. He refers to it as “passion, purpose, and a paycheck.” He has his arms around the challenges boomers face as they move into and through mid-life.

One of his core messages is “that we have not passed our expiration date.”

I became a Freedman fan in 2014 after reading his book “The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife.” He offers a lifeline to the many who find themselves in an “identity free fall” on a dispassionate career path full of uncertainty, wrestling with the question “what’s next.”

Ms. Hagerty quotes Freedman in her book, saying:

“A lot of people have identity very much tied up in their working lives beforehand and then they find themselves in an identity free fall. Society treats them as if they are a ‘step away from being the walking dead.'”

I relate to this life phase and the awareness that there are fewer days ahead than behind. I hit that wall in my mid-fifties. It was the start of an agonizingly slow pivot to finding my life quest, resulting in three changes in career direction.

So far, that is.

I’m probably not done and may not be until it’s time to send my parts back to the universe.

I relate to Freedman when he says we reach “the realization that there’s probably enough time ahead to do something significant, and in many cases, it’s an imperative.” We’re dealing with longevity bonuses of 20-30 years that previous generations didn’t have. That’s almost two generations of time. Think back to what you have seen develop, even in just one generation.

Two generations are a lifetime of potential growth, development, and contribution.

That is unless we buy the retirement schtick where we’re inclined to let decay take the front seat and put growth in the back.

But I’ll get off that soapbox early- I admit to being grindingly guilty of whipping that horse dead.

How to avoid becoming a bored (or trapped) Boomer

I decided against “remaking the wheel” this week and am providing links to a three-part series I posted in June 2018 entitled “How to Avoid Becoming a Bored Boomer.”

The series speaks to this topic and offers up nine suggestions for avoiding this bewildering phase. It has been one of my most popular posts and was the top post on PBS’s Next Avenue popular blog site for several weeks running.

How to Avoid Becoming a “Bored Boomer” – Part One

How to Avoid Becoming a “Bored Boomer” – Part Two

How To Avoid Becoming a “Bored Boomer” – Part Three

I hope the series brings you value. Let me know your thoughts by scrolling down and leaving a comment.

Thanks for your consistent support and for spreading the word. If you haven’t joined, trip on over to www.makeagingwork.com, join the list and receive a copy of my free ebook “Achieving Your Full-life Potential: Five Easy Steps to Living Longer, Healthier, and With More Purpose.”

Donnie Demulling says:

February 17, 2023 at 6:26 pm

Superb blog! Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you advise starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely confused .. Any ideas? Thanks!