“Than!?” you exclaim? Goals? I’m done with goals. Throughout my career, I needed to focus on setting goals, so much so that I determined that my The only goal in retirement would be to have no goals at all!

Perhaps you need to rethink your strategy. McLain and Lovejoy, in their article, The Importance of Setting Goals for Retirees, comments, “The first step in setting goals as a retiree is to think about what matters most in your life, so you can live with purpose” (March 2015). In fact, setting goals for retirement can help retirees avoid some of the negative effects of aging and help maintain quality of life longer.

So if you’re willing to review your retirement goal-setting adversity, let’s start with one of life’s most important and meaningful realities: family.

family goals

Until now, your working life has been a challenging juggling act, trying to balance family demands with those of your career or job. He now has her opportunity to renegotiate her time allocation according to his own values. How about making spending time with immediate and remote family members a high priority, whether through personal time or through social media?

Yes, the family dog ​​needs to be walked. The grandchildren can participate in those special excursions that create lasting memories. Now you have time to plan that special and one-of-a-kind birthday event for your partner or children, instead of just mailing that predictable birthday card! And don’t forget your parents, those special people who were largely responsible for the success of your life. Chances are they’d appreciate a weekly breakfast date.

learning goals

And what about your personal mental development? In his article, mental retreat, Rohwedder and Willis state that: “For many people, retirement leads to a less stimulating daily environment…the prospect of retirement reduces the incentive to engage in mentally stimulating activities.” The authors go on to note that retirees can prevent declines in reasoning ability and speed of mental processing by engaging in cognitively demanding activities that exercise the mind (October 2010).

So if you follow the “use it or lose it” mantra, then yes, join that local book club that does a progressive lunch after every meeting. Introduce yourself to that bridge gang that always seems to be having fun. Perfect your Sudoku skills by challenging virtual friends you’ve brought online. Take that popular gardening course at your local community college.

Better yet, offer to teach a workshop on The history of rock and roll-a subject that has consumed you since you were a teenager. These activities not only sharpen and enrich your mind, but also provide surprisingly satisfying social connections.

Volunteer Objectives

If you have always believed that it is a lottery who benefits most in any altruistic endeavor, the recipient or the donor, you will find ample opportunities to give back to your community by offering your time, talents, or material resources for worthy causes, while also stimulating your mind. .

Offer to tutor children within your local school district. Consider that any number of Boomers would appreciate your help with tax preparation or how to create a family PowerPoint slideshow. If you live in the city, your local museum, theater or hospital would welcome your time and talent as a volunteer. And in return, imagine what you would learn in the process at any of these places. Hence the paradox: “The more you give, the more you receive.”

travel goals

Your travel options are legion. Go on your own and explore every nook and cranny of your chosen destination at your leisure. Choose an organized tour and leave all the details and decision making in the hands of your favorite travel organization. Whichever option you choose, you will have to weigh its pros and cons. But you will undoubtedly find your travel choice invigorating, enriching and even, in many cases, life changing. Traveling takes you out of your comfort zone, challenges your traditional ideas, allows you to experience new cultures and, unknowingly or not, opens new windows of self-discovery.

The first time I stood at the foot of a waterfall in a small Swiss village, the lump in my throat revealed so many mixed emotions… That I was never able to share this moment in its entirety with the people of my country. That there are, in fact, so many amazing destinations beyond the US that my first trip to Europe and all subsequent trips will change me for the better.

“Work” Goals

“Without work, or goals to replace the purpose that work gives you, you have little to keep you motivated” (McLain & Lovejoy, 2015). That said, consider that you are now in the enviable position of being able to completely review and renegotiate your “terms of work.”

Take a step back and “aim, aim, aim” before firing. Consciously and thoughtfully determine your goal. Will you continue to do the same type of work you did before you retired? Full time or part time? Or are you going to pursue an entirely different “work” path, one that satisfies a latent talent or compelling interest? Perhaps you are thinking of venturing into the world of entrepreneurship, instead of have to boss, be the boss. It’s your choice.

creative goals

How much of your creative side did you set aside for the practical demands of earning a reliable living, supporting and raising a family, settling down, and moving up the ladder? But that was then, and this is now. Did you ever like to write? Act? To make pottery? To create watercolors of spring flowers? Has your saxophone been relegated to a closet since you graduated from college? Is the singing voice that once won you the best solos in your high school choir rusty from disuse? Has it been a long time since you put aside your love for carpentry? Or weaving? Or padded? Or restore classic car engines?

You may have never had time for any of these, yet. So you don’t even know if you’d be as talented at what you’ve always wanted the chance to create. No problem. This just means that the time is now for you to start Creating is its own form of pleasure. Expressing yourself through words, oils, fabrics, clay, or wood gives voice to your inner spirit like nothing else has or ever will.

If you’ve already learned the skills for your creative niche choice, reconnect with what you know, then learn more, then move on with passion. If you’ve always dreamed of creating, but never learned how, get on the path to study, then develop your art or craft, and then revel in what you can create with your own mind and hands.

You have the considerable luxury of setting your own goals

Yes, now that you are retired, you have the luxury of setting goals that are meaningful to you. youconducted by his definition of “a life well lived”. Experts agree that we all do better when we have a purpose in life, and that a lack of purpose can put our lives at risk after retirement.

Whether your goals for retirement revolve around family, personal development, giving to others, travel, “work,” creating, or some combination of these, they promise to keep you in good standing as you enter the end of your career. life and, hopefully, better work.