Existential Dread

Favorite quotations, etc.
suomalainen
Posts: 979
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 12:49 pm

Re: Existential Dread

Post by suomalainen »

Saw this recently and thought it appropriate for this thread:

The 4 phases of retirement | Dr. Riley Moynes | TEDxSurrey

It discusses the four phases of (a typical old-age) retirement:
1) Vacation - what is generally seen by pre-retirees as an ideal retirement - wake up when you want, do what you want, etc. Generally lasts about a year, until you get bored, miss a routine, and start to ask "Is this all there is?".
2) Feel loss and feel lost - you lose routine, sense of identity, relationships, sense of purpose, power - all things that are generally easily found at a job. Divorce, depression and decline are also very common in this phase.
3) Trial and error - search for meaning, how to contribute? You need to find something that gets you up in the morning again or you'll slip back into phase 2.
4) Reinvent and rewire - not everyone makes it here, but those that do find activities that provide meaning and a sense of accomplishment, that satisfy those five losses experienced in phase 2. This almost always involves service to others.

There may be some biases in there reflective of a certain population that he surveyed, but the main ideas can be useful in any event. My summary is: remember that you are a biological entity, honed by evolution to need certain things, so don't fight it, embrace it. The easiest shortcut to satisfy many of these homo sapien needs at once is to do what you love with the people you love. It will be different for different people, with varying amounts of routine, sociability, accomplishment, etc., and your needs will vary day-by-day and over time, but that's what the trial and error is for. Go and do. And when that's been done, go and do again and again. In the meantime, try to enjoy the dance and don't overthink it.

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