We need to talk about purpose

Purpose – The Real Secret To Retirement

Now I know I’ve said this many times, but for those of you who don’t know, when I retired it was sudden. One day I was living a life filled with purpose, the next, I was told that I only had six months to live.

Thankfully, that diagnosis was wrong and I’m here, still going strong. But what happened to me back then was painful in more ways than one. You see, following that diagnosis I retired. I had to, to undergo medical treatment and when fully recovered, I thought I had enough to sustain me without going back to work. I had a loving family, loads of friends, social engagements, hobbies, books to write and an endless list of things to do. I was busy, engaged, driven even, but was I fulfilled? Hell no! I was bored, empty and sad.

And the reason? I had no purpose. There was nothing in my life that gave me the energy and enthusiasm to jump out of bed in the morning. Days blended seamlessly into weeks and weeks into years. There was no fun, no joy, no excitement in the day to day.

So how did I change that? Well, I found my purpose. I knew the traditional ‘take your carriage clock and disappear into the sunset’ retirement was not for me. And I soon discovered that millions of other people felt the same.  They were lost, wandering around their later years filling up their diaries in a desperate attempt to keep busy, to give their life meaning, to stay sane.  And so, I found my purpose by helping others discover theirs.

I’ll come onto the ‘how I do this’ and ‘why it works’ in next week’s blog, so look out for that, but before I do I want to say this….

“It’s Not Your Fault!”

If you’re feeling like I did and wondering how and why you ended up in a retirement you really didn’t dream of, it’s not your fault.

We’ve all been programmed to think that retirement planning is all about money.  Have enough savings and a pension and you’ll be ok. No one ever talks about the other stuff. How you’ll maintain your self-confidence, sense of fulfilment and self-worth. Except me. You see, I know that all the ‘other stuff’ is far more important. Money can’t buy you any of this – it all has to come from within.  It takes time to work out what your retired self looks like, feels like, acts like. It doesn’t happen overnight.

And, even more than that.  Not focusing on all this ‘other stuff’ is dangerous. It leads to ill health, cognitive decline, loneliness, depression, and a whole heap of terrible things that you can’t buy your way out of.

If you’d like to know more about purpose and how to find yours then sign up for my next online retirement course which starts on Wednesday 3 November. Make 2022 the year you start living the life you always dreamed of.