What makes you happy?
When approaching retirement, a common question we ask ourselves is about purpose.
What will be my purpose if I’m no longer working? Or my children have left home?
What will get me out of bed every day?
Much of life is purpose driven. Being a productive member of society, providing safety and support for family, for example.
We may have a strong sense of purpose, how this will be continued, transition or change in retirement, and purpose can certainly play an important role in our lives.
But do you sometimes experience purpose fatigue? Feeling a sense of pressure that everything must have a specific purpose?
Many people I speak to want to find ways of being happy in retirement. To explore creative outlets that they didn’t previously have time for or didn’t feel they could prioritise.
To spend time with people that make them feel good about themselves, that understand them and enjoy spending time with them in return.
Purpose has value, but so does being happy. I don’t believe it has to be one or the other. There may even be overlap.
If answering the question, “what makes you happy?”, is challenging, start making a list of things that make you happy in the moment.
Keep going for a week (or more). Notice the patterns. And then choose to spend time doing things that make you happy.
What will you do today that makes you happy?
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