Life Can Be Overwhelming

There’s no doubt that life can be overwhelming at times.  We all need a break.  This feeling doesn’t happen to me quite as often as it did when I was working.  Retirement has offered a bit of a safe haven compared to the years I struggled as part of Corporate America.  As I’ve mentioned many times throughout the articles on this website, I really did not like working.  I never found a career that I was happy with.  I did well and I made a salary most people would be very happy with but the amount of satisfaction I got from my job was not enough to bring a smile to my face as I made my hour-long commute to work each morning battling the traffic on the poorly named Long Island Expressway.  I was very appreciative of having a job and for the way I could provide for our family, but I found almost no pleasure in my job.  With that cloud hanging over me, I would feel overwhelmed by life on a regular basis.

Life Can Be Overwhelming
Even In Retirement

Retirement changed that.  My biggest source of pressure was gone.  I could spend my time as I chose, and it has made all the difference in the world.  But, as everyone finds out, life is not stress free and even if you don’t have a job to drive you crazy, other factors can get you into that state of mind where you just need to escape.  Even when you’re retired, life can be overwhelming.  So, what do you do and how do you find a way to escape from the pressures of the world?

Let me say first that some problems do indeed require special assistance.  If you have an illness or have suffered the loss of a loved one or even have a problem with one of the important relationships in your life, you will need more than I’m offering here.  Professional care is something that a lot of people hesitate to use but it’s usually the best course in taking steps to solve whatever is affecting you.  Please know that we wish you the best as you make your way through your struggles.

The difficulties I’m talking about here relate more to a general feeling of discontent like many people experience in the middle of winter or after a string of rainy days. Even just a sense of discontent about how boring life can be or how troubling the world situation is can be a bit overwhelming at times.  For those situations, I have found that sometimes all you need is a change of pace and taking the extra time to create a special moment.  Even a trip to a local museum followed by a dinner at a nice restaurant can be enough to change your mood.  My wife and I love the theater, and some local productions are quite good.  We live in the Hudson Valley in New York since we retired and there are some theaters that have excellent offerings and it’s great to see people living out their passion in life.  Our daughter lives for performing and we have greatly enjoyed seeing her at some of her happiest moments.  During our winter journeys we have made local theaters a highlight of our travels and the theaters in Myrtle Beach, Staunton, Viginia and especially Ford’s Theater have been among our favorites.

If there are no local theaters near you, try seeing a movie whether it’s a current one or even an old one on television.  Theater and drama can be a great escape.  In fact, Abraham Lincoln used it as his favorite form of escape as he faced the most troubled time in our nation’s history. Indeed, life can be overwhelming, but it sometimes helps to watch other people work out their problems even if it’s only actors on a stage or in a film

If theater and drama are not what you desire, why not start a hobby.  Try writing or painting or woodworking.  Doing something creative can work wonders on your outlook on life.  Winston Churchill would lose himself for hours in front of a canvas and my wife always tells me how the day flies by when she’s in her “workshop” and building her latest woodworking creation.  I have found writing to be a great escape.  It can help you re-live the wonderful memories that you’ve created or get your creative juices flowing as you do research for a question you want to answer.  If you find the right hobby, don’t be surprised if it turns into an addiction.  It’s amazing what can happen when you spend your time doing something you enjoy.

I’m aware that there are probably some people reading these words who are saying that they don’t have the money to do these things and, while I have great sympathy for that, I think there are some things that are quite satisfying that don’t require a lot of money to do.  Writing can be as simple as a journal in a notebook and, if you have access to the internet, you watch documentaries and movies for free that will provide that feeling of leaving your troubles behind.  A good library is always an option as well.  So is turning your hobby into a source of income.  The internet is exploding with possibilities from owning a website to writing content for one or selling your crafts online.  As my parents always said: “where there’s a will, there’s a way” and although we may shrug that off as an outdated idea, people are creating new fortunes every day with new skills that they’ve learned.  We live in a world that doesn’t even remotely resemble the world we grew up in. Starting a business back in our day usually required a huge investment but a website can be started for less than you might think.  Life can be overwhelming, but there is more opportunity today than ever to do something about it. Become a part of the technological advances that have transformed this world we live in.  These can be the most exciting times of your life.  Go on.  Get started.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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