Purpose in Retirement
One of the most important things to consider when you enter retirement is keeping active. Being active physically and mentally is more important than many folks realize. Finding a purpose in your retirement is something that needs to be focused on or your health will suffer. Research by Dr. Celeste Pearce has shown that having a strong sense of purpose can significantly enhance your overall quality of life and help you live longer. The Health and Retirement Study on people ages 50 and above in the U.S. revealed that the stronger the participants felt they had a purpose in life, the lower their risk of dying.
History is filled with stories of people who led active and purpose-filled lives, only to retire on a beach or a golf course somewhere and then literally die of boredom.
Having a sense of disillusionment with your retirement can set in easily if you are merely engaged in leisure activities. A passion for something is not the same as a purely leisurely activity. Hanging out by a pool or drinking cocktails in the sunshine day in and day out can numb the mind after a while.
3 questions to ask yourself to help find your purpose:
What are you passionate about?
The things that you are passionate about engender a fire in the soul that is ignited by the things that excite you at your core.
What made you happy when you were younger?
Perhaps you loved playing golf or going fishing. You may have to find new hobbies like painting or hiking. Musical instruments can be learned and ongoing education can be embraced. No matter what it is, seek out the things that made you happy before. Perhaps your purpose will be sparked by a memory.
What social issues or charities move you?
Many retirees spend their time doing meaningful things. If you want to spend time making a difference in the lives of others find the people you want to help the most or perhaps you will find a few.
The National Library of Medicine says that retirement is a transition that occurs in the last stage of life. This stage of life is characterized by the ceasing of work. When an individual stops working as they reach the age where they need to retire they experience a big change in their daily lives.
The loss of a routine can have a big impact on your mental wellbeing. Work also provides socialization. A change in status if you were in a position of authority or management can have a drastic effect on how you see yourself and that could markedly affect one’s self-esteem.
This can alter the psychosocial realm of the retiree. Additionally, the aging process leads to a decline in health as well as possibly mental faculties of individuals as they continue to age. Self-image and self-esteem take a big knock if you don’t have a defined purpose once you stop work. This in turn generates feelings of uselessness, thus predisposing retirees to depression.
Staying active and finding a purpose can stave off the whirlpool of negative thoughts and feelings that come along with that.
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