Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Every Life Needs a Purpose
What's Yours Now? What Will It Be in Retirement?

We all need purpose to set a direction for our lives, to pull us out of bed every morning, even on those days when we don't feel like it. Especially on those days. Our purpose doesn't have to be on the grand scale of superheroes, saving the planet from an evil genius with bad hair and even worse teeth and a cat. No, each of our purposes could be small and simple and beautiful, just doing what we love to do. And then there's no need to wear tights.

I'm not here to tell you what your purpose should be, only to point out that a life worth living needs one.

Earlier in our lives, for many of us our purpose was wrapped up in our career and/or family, as it was for me. The challenge, then, can be setting a new True North once our careers are nearing their end and our children have mostly flown the coop. What then?

Let's explore that.

What Would You Do If You Didn't Need the Money?

First, a Little Context

In a previous post, I mentioned the need to have a plan to get you to retirement and another plan once you retire—and maybe even more than one (for the early retirement years and another for when you want to slow down a bit or otherwise shift into a different gear). I also talked about the fact that a plan or hope is just a wish unless and until you take meaningful action to achieve it. In that discussion, I also covered a range of possible activities that you could try out in retirement, but that was by no means an exhaustive list.

One of the possibilities in the list focused on working in retirement.

What Do You Mean by Working in Retirement? Isn't than an Oxymoron? 

Good question! I'm glad I asked. When I think and talk about retiring, more specifically I am referring to ceasing full-time employment in the industry where you've spent a majority of your career. But that doesn't mean you can't do some other kind of work. Something more meaningful or rewarding or enjoyable.

Maybe even something you would do even if you weren't getting paid.

There's another idea here that I'd like to address, which is the notion of "retirement age". This number is actually fairly arbitrary. Back when the Social Security Administration (SSA) in the United States was set up in 1935, they picked 65 as the ideal age for people to retire. But in 1935, the life expectancy for women was 62 and for men it was 58. Today it's 81 and 77, respectively (or even older, as some estimate). And based on current genetic research, there are smart people who are confident these numbers will go up quite a bit in the not-too-distant future (the subject of an upcoming article and review).

Bottom line:  an actuary probably picked 65 as an appropriate retirement age in 1935 as a sound financial decision for the future health of the SSA—it would never run out of money if most people didn't live long enough to collect.

Except now we are. Most people are living longer, healthier lives.

But What Would I Do?

Since we are in the portion of this article where we are talking about what you would do even if you didn't get paid for it, we should remember that there can be rewards for our efforts that transcend a paycheck. Helping others can end up helping us since doing so can give our lives meaning and a purpose. And who of us would not welcome the chance to reflect back on something we poured our heart into and realize that it made the world a little more beautiful for at least one other soul? 

So how could we achieve that? Let's unpack some possibilities.

If you have an entrepreneurial mindset, you could try starting your own business—hopefully one that helps others in some way. There are, of course, numerous options here, many of which are possible to get going with just a laptop, an internet connection, and some hard work. If you plan it right and carry it out according to your plan, you might be able to set it up so you can run your online business from anywhere and work just a couple hours a day. This way of life is often called a "laptop lifestyle" or "digital nomad". This lifestyle is what I'm shooting for since it will fit into my plan of being able to travel around visiting family and friends and places on our bucket list. More on this in an upcoming post.

One thing you have to be careful about here, though, is that the startup costs for whatever business model you decide to pursue don't jeopardize your retirement savings and investments. Although starting your own business can be lucrative, you need to make sure you're not going to starve if you don't make much on the business, especially while you're getting it off the ground. That's why this section of the article talks about what you would do if you didn't get paid for it—if you are starting your own business, you could end up doing very well and making a bunch of money, but you should make sure you really love what you're doing just in case it takes a while for the money to start trickling in, or in case it never does.
Speaking (writing) of doing what you love, one ultimate labor of love is to volunteer for the sheer joy it may bring you and others. There are countless places you can volunteer to help others, including a hospital, a retirement home, a church, or an animal shelter. There are also more personalized things you can do, like offer to mentor someone who would benefit from your experience, or share your experiences and insights in a blog :).

What Could You Do If You Need Some Extra Money?

It's entirely possible that you might need a little extra cash during retirement—the intent here is not to make anyone feel bad if that is the case. Or maybe it's not money per se, but rather the desire or need to have a company help you cover part of the cost of medical benefits. Or maybe you had a career that was rich with social interaction, and now you miss that aspect of your job. Finding a part-time job may help you with that as well.

Here are some ideas that may help in one or more of these areas:

You could look for or create opportunities to consult part-time in the area of your expertise. This warrants another article to cover all the possibilities, but with the rise of what's known as the "gig economy", opportunities abound for short-term, project-type engagements for people with all sorts of skill sets. Some great places to hang out your virtual shingle to find such work include:
Another option that's low on the compensation side of the equation but potentially very rewarding is to become a schoolteacher. You generally need a teaching credential, and that takes some time to get, so this may not necessarily be a great option unless you are retiring early enough to complete the required training/testing. In addition to the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of tomorrow's leaders, another benefit of this path is that you will usually have your summers off, leaving you ample time to pursue other retirement dreams as well. Many states do not have mandatory retirement ages for teachers, but if this is interesting to you, you should confirm the situation in your locale.
If you have an entrepreneurial sprit but aren't quite sure what your new business venture should be, you could consider something from the zillions of franchising opportunities available these days. If you plan to go this  route, choose one that suits the amount of time and money you are willing to invest, as well as your own expertise. Franchises are all over the map in terms of requirements of a combination of those three factors. If you're interested but not sure how to even get started, there's a whole sub-industry of franchise consultants who can help get you oriented and lead you to some good fits.

Wrapping It Up

Now is your time to pursue something meaningful, something that defines or makes clear your purpose. Maybe you are already living in this way. If so, that is awesome! I would invite you to leave a comment below describing your experiences that led you to this place since it would be great for everyone to hear how you found a way to achieve this alignment.

For everyone else who hasn't gotten there yet:  if you strive to make the world a better place for others, or even one other person, you will find that, by injecting meaning into your life, your world has a brighter outlook as well.

So the question is:  What will you do? Does your answer include action verbs?

I know that's two questions, but this is important!

Purpose

Photo & Quotation Copyright 2021 by David K. Carpenter, All Rights Reserved.

4 Comments

  1. Dave Little

    While financial stability in retirement is important.. Just as you have pointed out in this blog… emotional stability in retirement is just as important.. maybe even more so to some degree. I just cant QUIT. I need to feel relevant. Serving others has always been important.. and most rewarding. You have said in this ..and other blogs.. age of retirement is a state of mind. So we need to get prepared for it. You are showing us some ways to do it. I wish I had had some of them years ago… but tey are still relevantnow … to a person that ALWAYS wants to BE relevant.. Thanks

  2. Kristin Carpenter

    Dave Little brought up a great point. Feeling relevant. I guess I didn’t realize the importance of that. But, as my kids are leaving and needing me less and less I guess I am getting that.

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