TPresident Eisenhower, an avid golfer, lamented that his game was no longer as good as it was when he was president.
CEOs today know the feeling, especially when their jokes fall flat, their phones do not ring, and their calendars are open – wide open.
Welcome to retirement.
This syndrome pertains to all of us at one point or another after our working years are over. Time stretches as it never did before, almost like being a schoolkid again, feeling the long days of summer.
Only you won’t be going back when the bell rings. You are done.
Finding the new you
Steve Lopez, author of IndependenceDay: What I Learned about Retirement from Some Who Have Done It and Some Who Never Will, told me in an interview that when you retire, you need to find purpose. And such a purpose need not be grandiose. Steve said some folks find purpose in walking their dog.
Purpose is essential, certainly, but I have a different take. I would define post-work years as the need or search for relevance.
We all want to be wanted.
When you are in charge, everyone wants a piece of you. Your time is rarely your own. You are, so to speak, in harness to the organization’s needs. When you hang it up, your time returns to you. Retirement, a friend told me, is six Saturdays and one Sunday.
So how do you want to spend those days?
Finding meaning
Relevance, as I define it, is what gives you meaning, focus, or even direction. The question becomes, what do you have to offer?
A good friend of mine Jim retired after a long corporate career in finance. In 2017 he began volunteering two hours a week at a nonprofit organization that distributes clothing and small household items free to children and adults in need. Jim’s two hours per week has bloomed into three full days a week managing inventory, including the manual labor required to accept donations and restock shelves. Now that’s relevance!
So ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I like doing?
- What am I good at?
- How can I contribute?
Doing volunteer work is great, but it is not for everyone. You can make time for others. Pitching in where you can as a friend or neighbor.
And you can still have fun.
For example, I know fellow golfers who play nearly every day when the weather permits. Golf is a game of focus, something you can work on and always improve, even when your level of improvement is more an act of restoration, that is, finding a way to still enjoy the challenge of the game.
Word to the wise. Some folks want to continue working. Steve Lopez told me that he interviewed Mel Brooks when he was writing Independence Day. As we know Mr. Brooks is a centenarian and still in the game. If you want to keep working – and you can still contribute – go for it.
First posted on LinkedIn on 6.28.2026
