Finding Purpose in Retirement
Congratulations! You’ve taken on a new role called retirement.
Now what?
Retirement as a job description is unique as it offers 40+ hours per week to do something.
That something is unique to you & can be anything you want.
So what do you do?
For many, working provided a sense of community, connection, and more importantly –
Purpose.
“To me, the unhappiest people in the world are those in the watering places, the international watering places like..uhhh..the south coast of France and Newport and Palm Springs and Palm Beach; going to parties every night, playing golf every afternoon, then bridge. Drinking too much, talking too much, thinking too little. Retired. No purpose.”
Purpose is why we do what we do.
With it, you have direction.
Without it, you move aimlessly.
So how do you get out of retirement what you want?
Decide what it is you want.
Easy enough, but how do you decide?
Get to know yourself authentically.
Who you are in retirement is likely different from who you were in your 20s.
Times change & we change.
When’s the last time you reconnected with yourself?
Connect with what is important to you.
Connect with who is important to you.
Connect with how you enjoy the passage of time.
How clear are you on that?
The gap between your connection to your values and your actions is where your discontentment lies.
To close that gap consider exploring the following questions:
What do you want more out of in your life? What do you want less of?
Which relationships do you want to expand? Which relationships do you want to contract?
How would you describe your average perfect day?
If you’re at the end of your retirement, looking backwards, what would have to happen for your retirement to be deemed as success? Is there something you’re looking to feel, experience, or accomplish?
With your answers in hand, this is your rough draft retirement handbook.
What you may find is that your answers are more abstract.
For example:
You want more freedom, adventure, relaxation.
You want less stress, anxiety, and running around.
What do these values look like in action to you?
Freedom in action could mean time to step away from your household responsibilities once a quarter for a get-away with someone you care about most (this could tie into your adventure value).
Relaxation in action could mean giving yourself permission to take the first 3 hours of your morning to walk, meditate, read, go to yoga or the gym, etc.
What’s important here is not what you come up with, rather, how closely what you come up with aligns with you.
With your values in action, this should provide the framework to connect the dots into a successful retirement.
As you work through this, give yourself grace.
Purpose in retirement is a process, it doesn't happen overnight. Take time, try & explore.
It may be helpful to follow natural inclinations.
Follow what makes you unique, that makes you who you are. What you love is a good guiding force.
Return to the inclinations back to when you’re young that sparks childlike curiosity.
Above all - this is where you start - it may not be where you end up.
But with targeted focus, you get to:
Retire towards something, not away from it.