I try to make goals every year which typically include getting more exercise and learning something new. Below is an article I came across about leading a “purposeful life after retirement.” I think we could look at the list below as a list of possible resolutions. Which one could you add to your list this year to lead a more “purposeful life?”
How to Live a Purposeful Life After Retirement
Look at retirement as a time to do what you love and to try new things.
“Having a sense of purpose could add years to your life, according to a study published in 2014 in Psychological Science. Researchers from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and the University of Rochester in New York, tracked the physical and mental health of more than 7,000 American adults ages 20 to 75 for 14 years, and found that those who felt they had a purpose or direction in life outlived those who did not.
Once you retire and your children have left home, it’s easy to feel as though you have nothing left to accomplish. But older adults can still have career goals and direction, just in a different way, says E. Christine Moll, PhD, a professor in the department of counseling and human services at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and member of the American Counseling Association.
The key, she says with a nod to Jimmy Buffett, is having an attitude of gratitude: Be grateful for what you’ve done and where you’ve been, and look forward to more of the same. ‘Keep doing,’ Dr. Moll advises, perhaps by following one of these 10 ways to live a more purposeful life:
- Join a gym
- Continue your hobbies
- Become politically active
- Try something new
- Go back to school
- Volunteer
- Immerse yourself in culture
- Get into games
- Become an emeritus
- Babysit”
Read more details and suggestions on how to live a more purposeful life