T<\/span>here is ample research demonstrating that those who live life with a sense of purpose and meaning live longer and happier than those with a limited sense of self. The reason is straightforward: pursuing happiness does not create meaning, but pursuing activities that provide you with a sense of meaning creates happiness.<\/p>\n In addition to the mental benefits, people who live their purpose experience less stress and address potential health problems faster. Finally, relationships often flourish when people live with a sense of purpose, and they tend to live more responsibly. It is just that simple and that important.<\/p>\n So, the critical question for those of us entering or in the stage of life where our responsibilities for raising children and achieving career ambitions are in the past is, \u201cHow do I find a sense of purpose and meaning?\u201d And connected to that, \u201cWhat will I do with my time?\u201d These are some of the most important questions addressed in my book, Next Stage: In Your Retirement, Create the Life You Want.<\/p>\n From the research and interviews that formed the foundation of my book, there are several tasks that people can do to develop their sense of purpose.<\/p>\n For many, you just need to look both backward and forward in your life. You can discover this by reflecting on the things you have done and want to do with your life.<\/p>\n Here are three exercises to help you uncover your purpose.<\/p>\n In other words, when you were doing things that you really loved that made you feel totally engaged while it was happening and energized when it was completed. Try to identify four or five of these moments. These times could have been when you were a child, a teenager, a young adult, in your professional career, or in your spare time.<\/p>\n Now, as you review these moments, try to identify what they have in common. Did they involve being with other people? Were they in competitive or collaborative situations? Were they of short duration? Or did they last days or weeks? What was it about them that generated these feelings? When you relive these times and remember the energy and joy you experienced, you will discover what creates a sense of meaning and purpose. But don\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n Each person is a natural at something that has enabled them to be successful at certain times in their life. These skills may include your ability to see the big picture, attend to details effectively, being persistent and focused, or influencing or engaging other people. These skills may be your leadership, your problem-solving and creative thinking abilities, or your ability to get things done. Each of us has these, and there are many resources to help you identify your strengths. If you find this difficult, ask a friend or partner or use one of the many tools available online (for instance, strengthsfinder.com, viacharacter.org, or careerassessmentsite.com). People seldom have only one or two primary skills, so identify five to 10 of your unique abilities.<\/p>\n As you look at your list of abilities, how do you feel? Are there connections between these abilities and your activities when you were in your element?<\/p>\n This task asks you to make some decisions about what you will do during this next stage of life. It is time to select those things that provide you with the greatest meaning and value. This may be the time in your life when you can reinvent yourself or focus your energy in new areas. One of the greatest opportunities is to do what gives you the greatest meaning and let go of those activities, emotions, habits, and relationships that are no longer providing value. Allow them to change, evolve, and help you learn what is actually important to you.<\/p>\n This is also a time to recognize and accept those responsibilities that you must continue (such as caring for a disadvantaged family member or earning income) and accept the things that you cannot change. Acceptance of these responsibilities and using them to build on what gives you meaning (which is why you do them) can provide a great sense of fulfillment.<\/p>\n So, now comes the time to put these insights into a new direction for your life. Although this does not need to be a highly detailed set of tasks, goals, or must-do\u2019s, they should reflect those things that are important for you to create the life you truly want. This is a time in life to discover the things that you\u2019ve always wanted to do but haven\u2019t, repair the things that need repairing, let go of the things that have haunted you in the past, and continue doing what gives you deep meaning.<\/p>\n Here are examples of what three people have done to pursue what gives them meaning:<\/p>\n 1. Rebecca is becoming a food philanthropist. She loves cooking and making meals and giving them away to a person or group that needs fresh, warm, and healthy meals. It gives her a deep sense of fulfillment by using her creativity to benefit another person directly.<\/p>\n 2. After a career as a lawyer and judge, Bill and a colleague founded a nonprofit to help men who were going to prison. This organization provides a place where the courts can assign men instead of going to prison. As long as they meet the requirements of the program, they can remain out of prison and ultimately have their record expunged. In this residential program, they learn meaningful job skills, engage in needed counseling, and learn how to operate and make positive contributions to society. The early results have been nothing short of incredible.<\/p>\n 3. Dean has discovered that he enjoys being a deletant. Each day is different and filled with things to learn and do. He has become an avid gardener, he loves philosophy and is taking literature classes, he has rediscovered his love of playing the piano and is taking lessons, and he keeps himself healthy through a daily exercise routine. He enjoys each day through the wonders it offers.<\/p>\n So, regardless of where you find yourself in the stages of life, this just might be the time to create the life you want and find those sources for energy and meaning. If not now, when? It\u2019s been said, \u201cLife isn\u2019t about finding yourself; it\u2019s about creating yourself.\u201d Finding purpose and meaning is a critical step to creating yourself and the life you want.<\/p>\n Tips for creating the life you want in retirement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2020","category-winter-2020-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9636"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9828,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9636\/revisions\/9828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Think of a Time When You Were in Your Element<\/h3>\n
2. Identify Your Unique Abilities<\/h3>\n
3. Identify What You Want To Hold on to and What You Want To Let Go of<\/h3>\n
Tom Wilson is the author of Next Stage: In Your Retirement, Create the Life You Want<\/em><\/a>. Visit the My Next Stage website<\/a> to learn more, and check out Tom\u2019s LinkedIn.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"