PURSUE PURPOSE

After years of planning and saving, you’ve finally achieved your dream of retirement. Then, one day you wake up and realize you have no focus or motivation. Essentially, you have lost your purpose.

But realizing you’ve lost your purpose is just the first step to finding a new one. Some retirees are fully prepared to launch into extensive volunteer work. Others travel and spend time with families. Others lunch with the ladies and play bridge. Still others begin painting or journey into photography. Overall, whatever the new goal is, they have one. But you may not. There are countless books out there about finding your calling. Unfortunately, most of those books are about finding a career you can be passionate about.

So, if you haven’t yet decided what your new purpose will be, perhaps the first question is whether or not you need one. For many retirees, living with freedom, trying new things, and enjoying life’s endless possibilities is enough – they are content without any “higher” or overarching purpose.

But for many of us, finding a new purpose is necessary and can be a major undertaking. Afterall, retirement is all about pursuing the things you couldn’t while you were younger.

Here are a few questions to help open your mind to new possibilities and help you regain your focus and motivation:

• What social or ethical issues are most important to me?

• What made me happy in my childhood that I’d like to try again?

• When do I feel the most creative?

• How have I made the world a better place?

• How can I make the world a better place going forward?

• What special talents do I have that I haven’t been able to explore?

• What have I thought about trying someday?

• What or who touches my heart?

• What characteristics do I have that have intrinsic value?

• What skills can I use to benefit other people?

• Am I more motivated by issues, family, or something else?

• Am I where I want to be spiritually and what can I do if I’m not?

• What would I regret not doing when I die?

Work on these questions over a period of time. Spend some time each day writing on whichever ones strike you at that moment. As you journal your thoughts and determine what you value, you can begin to shape what your new purpose will be.