Finding Purpose After Retirement: How to Set Meaningful Goals

If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?

Finding Purpose

How do you stay motivated and engaged after you retire, lose your life partner, or see all your children launched? You can decide what you want the purpose of the next decades of your life to be. Don’t forget that many people live for decades beyond traditional retirement age.

Your purpose could be to take action on climate change, become a scratch golfer, or take up a new sport. In The Art of the Impossible, author Steven Kotler suggests that purpose can sit at the intersection of passion and curiosity—something that is deeply meaningful to you. Your purpose should be engaging enough to sustain your interest over time, because meaningful goals may take years to pursue.

Setting Goals

So how do you know that you are moving toward your purpose? You set goals. Kotler describes these as “High Hard Goals”—goals that cannot be reached in a short period of time. While your purpose may take a lifetime to pursue, your larger goals may take three years or more.

If you choose a purpose such as taking action on climate change, your first goal might be to learn about the issues and identify an area where you can make a meaningful contribution. This could mean reading about different aspects of the issue, deciding what interests you, and exploring where you feel most comfortable contributing. You might also interview people or follow programs in areas you are passionate about.

Why Set Goals Now?

For many people who have had high-pressure jobs with demanding deadlines, this can sound like getting back into the rat race—everything this stage of life is not supposed to be. The difference is that you get to set the goals and deadlines. You can follow your passions without having to deliver to anyone but yourself.

The big question is why? Why not simply do the things you enjoy, like taking a trip, going on a cruise, or relaxing and seeing what happens? One perspective is that human beings naturally seek growth, learning, and new experiences. Goals can give you a way to measure your progress and create a sense of direction and engagement.

Four Considerations to Help You Set Motivating Goals

What can help you set goals that are meaningful and move you closer to your purpose? Author Ayelet Fishbach discusses motivation and goal-setting in her book Get It Done. If you want to stay motivated, it helps to think carefully about the goals you choose and how they encourage you to take action. Here are four recommendations:

• Pick something that excites you. Make sure the goal is framed positively—for example, fitting into a dress you love rather than focusing only on losing weight. Fishbach describes this as “approaching” rather than “avoiding.” This also fits with Kotler’s idea of choosing goals that interest you and that you can become passionate about.
• Be specific and measurable. If your goal is to become more knowledgeable about environmental issues, how will you know when you have reached that point? A goal such as reading a certain number of books or attending a specific number of workshops gives you a clearer way to recognize your progress.
• Have incentives that keep you interested. These incentives should be relatively immediate and connected to the goal. For example, you might plan to attend a climate change conference after reading a certain number of books on the subject. The experience can move you closer to your goal while also giving you something enjoyable to look forward to.
• Build on your own intrinsic motivation. This is a time of life when you can set goals based on what genuinely matters to you. Make sure you are pursuing what you want, rather than what someone else expects of you. If you really want to become a scratch golfer rather than work on climate change, that is a perfectly valid goal.

Examining your purpose, thinking about your goals, and considering your options can help you create a more meaningful life and give you something to feel excited about each day. Don’t lose your mojo in the name of stress reduction. Keep growing, exploring, and pursuing what matters to you.