We all go through transitions as we make our way through life. During the majority of our lives, we are involved with many activities and responsibilities. During the active parenting phases when our children required lots of our attention and nurturing, we clearly had lots of relevance in our children’s lives. On the professional side, our occupations placed us in very relevant positions, whether this was in our own company or working for others.
The retirement phase of our lives brings an entirely different concept of relevance. Our children are grown with their own children as well as their occupations. Yes, they love us dearly but the “relevance” factor of us in their lives is much diminished compared to our younger years. If we are retired from our jobs, we also feel lots less relevance to the companies we worked hard for. Our professional relevance and personal relevance factors often go down as our age goes up.
This entry was inspired by a few patients I have seen recently that have depression that is of fairly recent onset. The main cause appears to be more isolation and the feeling of being “less needed”. Essentially, the sense of “relevance” is markedly diminished. The “titans of industry” have transformed into sitting on a couch and watching Fox News, CNN or a tiresome series on Netflix.
On the personal side for me, if I was not “doctoring” anymore, I would probably fall into a major funk. Although I am seeing far less patients than in my heydays, I still feel a sense of “relevance” as each day I do see several patients and try to help them become healthier and happier. I am very lucky because doctors can still practice even if they are in their 60’s 70’s and maybe even 80’s whereas other occupations (such as commercial pilots) cannot.
Donating time and your expertise is a SUPER way of maintaining a sensation of relevance. YOU are a MAJOR resource for experience in your field. You can find volunteering experiences MUCH more relevant to your expertise…you do not need to wear a badge with your first name at a hospital welcome booth or call BINGO balls at a nursing home (although these are pretty nice things to do to help people as well).
Stay relevant and you will find yourself happier.
Enjoy a wistful song from Old Blue Eyes
