Over the past few years, I’ve seen several successful colleagues around my age post on LinkedIn about their “next chapter,” sharing stories of where life has taken them in the first year post-retirement after enjoying long, successful careers. Their experiences inspired me to reflect on my own journey and share my story.
While many of my peers seemed eager for retirement, I was the outlier. I dreaded it. For decades, I thrived on deadlines, editorial calendars, and key performance indicators. Every project was like a puzzle: strategy, writing, timing, and results all fitting together. Whether it was a PR campaign, a marketing initiative, or a major communications project, seeing the pieces click into place gave me immense satisfaction. The challenge, the collaboration, and the creative problem-solving made me feel energized, purposeful, and fully alive.
But the reality of ageism in the workplace made the next chapter inevitable. Hiring managers, often decades younger, are hesitant to bring on older candidates, worried they might outshine them, take longer to adapt, or simply remind them of their parents or grandparents. Despite years of experience and proven success, I found myself passed over repeatedly for roles I was more than qualified to excel in. That frustration became a catalyst, pushing me to explore new ways to create, contribute, and find fulfillment beyond the corporate ladder.
Here are seven things I’ve done since that shift that have allowed me to discover new ways to connect, create, and grow.
1. Working As A Contractor
I began by taking on contract roles with several large, global companies. Working remotely allowed me to collaborate with brilliant, accomplished people, without the grind of the daily commute and office politics. I loved the challenge of quickly coming up to speed on projects, contributing meaningfully, and solving problems in focused bursts. Some days, I’d feel the same thrill I did during my corporate career: the satisfaction of helping a team achieve a tangible goal, watching the pieces of a new initiative come together, and knowing my experience made a difference.
2. Freelancing As A Writer And Journalist
As contract work became scarce and age discrimination became more apparent, I pivoted back to writing, something that had always been my first love. Freelancing for magazines, marketing firms, and online media outlets gave me the freedom to tell stories on my own terms. One day I’d interview a small business owner who overcame incredible odds to grow their business, the next, I’d profile an innovative nonprofit making a community impact. Each assignment reminded me why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place: connecting with people, uncovering their journeys, and shaping their experiences into something audiences could relate to.
3. Creating My Own Website And Blog
To stay disciplined and creative, I launched my own website and blog. I set editorial calendars, deadlines, and goals, just as I had in the corporate world, but now for my own passions. Writing about business, personal finance, the plight of animals, or self-growth let me explore topics that matter to me deeply. Seeing readers engage with my work, commenting, sharing, and asking questions, was incredibly rewarding. It gave me a renewed sense of purpose and reminded me that connection and influence don’t stop just because you leave a full-time job.
4. Rediscovering My Body Through Yoga And The Gym
One of the great joys of this stage in life has been having time to care for my physical well-being. I go to hot yoga almost every day and hit the gym on my own schedule. The discipline, heat, and movement at the yoga studio help me build strength and flexibility, but more than that, each class is a form of meditation. Yoga has taught me that progress isn’t about perfection, it’s about being present and taking the next breadth, As a former competitive marathoner and triathlete, running along the ocean, cycling on the bike path, or swimming laps at sunrise allows me to enjoy the world in ways I never could while rushing to fit exercise into a lunch hour or between meetings and deadlines. These moments are my reset, my daily reminder that my body, like my mind, is alive and thriving.
5. Volunteering For A Worthy Cause
Volunteering at a local animal shelter has been emotionally rewarding in ways I hadn’t anticipated. Writing adoption posts for cats and dogs, spending times with shy animals, and witnessing their transformations as they find homes has been profoundly moving. Some days are bittersweet, seeing animals who’ve waited months or even years for a family. But being part of their journey, helping them find safety and love, gives me a purpose that’s completely different from my professional life, and far more meaningful.
6. Managing My Own Investments
I also took the opportunity to gain control of my finances. Consolidating multiple 401(k)s and investing in self-directed accounts is both challenging and exciting. Some weeks I watch my portfolio gains and can’t help but smile at the independence I’ve built, especially racking up more gains in a week than in a month’s salary. Beyond the numbers, managing my investments has been empowering. I’m learning, taking risks on my terms, managing them and seeing tangible results. It’s the thrill of creating something that grows over time, much like the campaigns I once managed in corporate America for world-class organizations but now what I’m building is for me personally.
7. Feeding My Mind Through Podcasts And Lifelong Learning
Evenings now belong to learning. Podcasts on psychology, neuroscience, personal growth, and creativity have become part of my daily routine. After my last full time role, I continued to pursue certifications in Project Management, Business Analysis, Digital Marketing, and HTML — not just to be more marketable for consulting and freelance roles, but also to expand my personal knowledge and satisfy my curiosity. From exploring the intricacies of human behavior to understanding nutrition, technology, and longevity, I’m constantly feeding curiosity and inspiration. This knowledge also sparks ideas for my writing, creating a loop of learning, reflection, and creation. Growth hasn’t stopped, it’s simply evolved.
All of these activities from yoga, working out to volunteering, managing my own investments, freelancing, and lifelong learning, have helped me find rhythm, balance, and meaning. The fear I had at the start of the year has been a comma in the story of life, a mere moment to pause, reflect, and pivot into something different, but still fulfilling.
A Word For Those Pondering Retirement
If you’re approaching this next chapter, take time to think intentionally about how you want to spend your days. Consider your passions, your strengths, and what gives you a sense of purpose. Whether you ease into retirement gradually through part-time work, freelancing, or contracting, or make a clean break from the forty-, fifty-, or sixty-hour workweeks that once defined you, having a plan in place matters. Retirement can be one of the most creative, liberating, and meaningful stages of life in your so-called golden years, if you approach it with curiosity, intentionality, and the willingness to keep growing.
