Retiring with purpose

Our lives are always guided by purpose. We may not think we have a grand design working in them, but the fact is, we are always moving with intent. Whether it’s to have more money so we worry less or do more, or we stay active to prolong our health or improve our looks, there is always a reason behind our actions.

An infant’s sole purpose appears to be to touch, to stretch and to experience this new world they’ve been delivered into. Watch a baby repeat a movement with their arm over and over. At first they look like random movements, but over days and weeks the movements slowly gain precision, they are building muscle memory. Their goal is mobility; one step at a time.

A teenager’s purpose is often to blend in and not be the center of attention. They go to great lengths to look and act like everyone else. If you have kids and have watched them get ready to go out you’ll know what I mean. There are also the few who strive to be different or stand out from the crowd; even that is driven by, the need to find the place they fit amongst their peers.

Young adults seem to have many cross purposes: education, relationships, employment, careers, money, parenthood and experiences. The drivers for most of those actions is the need for independence - from their families, their peer groups, their past or the limitations society sets upon them for their youth.

In retirement though, people often see their lives as being without a clear purpose. They often feel they’ve achieved their goals (or missed them), done what they could or just run out of time. Now they spend the rest of their lives in a holding pattern. Watching as the rest of the world drives by, leaving them slowly behind.

Photo: Thinkstock.com

I’m arguing that people’s lives never stop having purpose. What happens is they may lose sight of where they are going or they are doing and drift. Purpose is what keeps us alive and relevant. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning and why we feel energized each day. As humans, it’s integral to our survival at any age. It’s an essential part of our DNA. Making it through to the next day isn’t reason enough; waking up on the right side of the ground isn’t a purpose, its capitulation. It’s a form of blindness.

For most people, purpose is reflected in the things they do every day, their interests, their habits and their passions. We are what we do, whether we’re seven or seventy five. It’s not about saving the world, it’s about doing the things that matter the most, not to the rest of the world, but to you.

What matters? Do you write, paint, work with wood, play bridge, be a grandparent, hang out with your children, run marathons, garden, crochet, read, travel, be a friend, volunteer, work part time, mentor, work full-time? Do what is important to you, do as much as you are capable of and most importantly, do it as if the next third of your life is just as important as the last two thirds were, because it is.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.