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Maintaining a Sense of Purpose In Retirement

An article a couple of years back stated too much time on our hands may be as bad as too little.  When we are in the throes of working or raising families, we don’t often question our purpose and imagine that a few extra hours each week would be just what we need.  Research has shown that the benefits of free time level off at a certain point and start to decline the more free time we possess.  With traditional retirement affording us an incredible amount of free time, purpose in the day-to-day has become a critical part of retirement planning. 

A simple Google search will give us lists and top-tens of activities to engage in during retirement.  There’s no doubt we would see deepening connections with family and friends, traveling to new places, picking up new or neglected hobbies, and volunteering for causes important to us on these lists.  We might benefit from such lists, but often we know what we’d like to do.  The missing ingredient is courage.  Conviction combined with courage at any stage of life is powerful.  This is no less true in retirement.  In retirement, the opportunity is even greater as we have conviction plus time to be coupled with courage. 

When I lack courage, I’m often helped by stories of others who have accomplished what I imagine. 

  • Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the “Little House on the Prairie” book series, was 64 when she published her first work, Little House in the Big Woods, in 1932.
  • At age 95, Nola Ochs became the oldest college graduate when she received a bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State University, Kansas in 2007. She didn’t stop there ­– she went on to pursue a Master’s degree as well.
  • Dale Davis, who is legally blind, bowled a perfect game of 300 at age 78.
  • Keiko Fukuda was teaching judo and self-defense classes at age 98, despite having bad knees and Parkinson’s disease. In 2011, she became the first woman to ever attain a 10th-degree black belt, judo’s highest honor.
  • At age 95 track-and-field champion Olga Kotelko competed in 11 sports and held more than 30 world records in her age category.  She didn’t begin competing until age 77.

While we may have no interest in writing books, bowling, judo, or track and field, we all possess interests and goals that feel out of reach but could provide a deep sense of purpose and accomplishment.  Courage comes when we dispel those ‘limiting beliefs’ that tell us ‘I’m too old’ ‘This isn’t the right time’ ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘It won’t work’.  If others have done it, so can you.  Don’t wait, start now and take courage toward your dreams.  I’d love to hear what you have planned and what you accomplish in retirement.  I could use some courage too!

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