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How to find your LEISURE-LIFE PURPOSE

New Zealand Woman's Weekly

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November 17, 2025

Create fulfilment and make retirement your best years yet

How to find your LEISURE-LIFE PURPOSE

After years of long hours and packed schedules, the idea of retirement can feel like a dream come true. Freedom from deadlines, meetings and daily routines, retirement seems to sparkle on the horizon.

But when the last work day finally arrives, the reality can feel surprisingly different. Suddenly, there's a quiet house, unstructured days and the question: "What do I do today?" Without the familiar rhythm of work, it's easy to feel a sense of loss or uncertainty about one's identity.

This experience is far from unusual. Many retirees find the early days of life after work can bring both freedom and a strange emptiness.

Retirement coach Jon Glass says many wrongly assume that all that spare time will simply fill itself.

"Not many people are thinking about the emotional side of retirement, but when you're approaching retirement, think about what you want and need, and ask, 'How am I going to fill my days?'" he suggests.

Cross the bridge

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