Section 5
Purpose
Our purpose and the meaning we give to our
lives make a significant difference to our health, how we feel, how we perform
and how we bounce back from the challenges that life throws at us. This is
potentially even more important as we reach retirement and the latter period of
our lives.
Our purpose may be large. We may want to bring
peace to the world, or it may be much smaller. We may want to make the lives of
our pets happier or ensure our houseplant is cared for. It’s not size that
matters, it’s about how much what we choose relates to what’s really important
to us as individuals.
Discovering what’s really important to us may
be a life-time challenge. It often requires work, and many people don’t get
round to it until they reach a certain age. When we approach retirement, we may
have a final chance to clarify what we’re really about. Even as far as to
create a story about our lives that we’re genuinely proud to tell our children
and grandchildren.
We’ve included some exercises to help you to
connect to what’s really important to you. It’s one of those things that you
have to do yourself. No one can do it for you!
(This is one of those exercises that looks easy;
however, when done properly, it encourages us to think deeply. Often it’s
useful to ask a coach to take us through it, so we can concentrate on the
content rather than the process.)
1. What’s
important to you about the people you know?
To each answer ask yourself, ‘what does that
get me?’, and to that answer ask again, ‘what does that get me?’
2. What’s
important to you about yourself?
To each answer ask yourself, ‘what does that
get me?’, and to that answer ask again, ‘what does that get me?’
3. What’s
important to you about your environment? Feel free to add anything that been
missed out from questions 1 and 2
To each answer ask yourself, ‘what does that
get me?’, and to that answer ask again, ‘what does that get me?’
4. Write
all your answers from 1, 2, and 3. Prioritise them.
Pick the first 1, 2 or 3. Imagine that you were
achieving them to the very best of your abilities at a specific time in the
future. Do you feel good? If so why not make them a priority?
Case Study: Joan
Coming from a rich family Joan
never had to work, and was instead able pursue her various hobbies: music,
swimming, and even mountaineering and hunting, although Joan found that she
didn’t enjoy killing of animals. Joan began smoking in her twenties when her
husband introduced her to having a cigarette after meals. She continued the
habit for most of her life, but it never seemed an addiction as it did with
others - one or two a day seemed enough for her.
She would wake at eight each
morning and would have sometimes only a coffee or hot chocolate for breakfast.
In time, she had a daughter, and
at 36 this daughter died - Joan was heartbroken, but persevered.
She continued drinking coffee for
breakfast, and eating beef for lunch, frequently with pudding - she loved
chocolate throughout her life. She moved into a nursing home, where it was
noticed that she moved faster than the others, despite her blindness. She fixed
some of her own meals. - each morning, asking God in a prayer, spoken aloud,
why she was chosen to continue living so long.
At 85, she took up fencing.
(Spoiler Alert: The details above
actually come from the life of Jeanne Calment, the longest living human being,
at 122 years.)
The Question:
What facets of
Joan/Jeanne’s attitude and lifestyle do you think contributed to her longevity?
Do you think sometimes indulging
can be healthier than restricting?
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This is the continuation of a weekly serialization of this new ebook on active retirement, by Wamala and Cooper, which book is available through amazon.com for $0.99:
https://www.amazon.com/RETIREMENT-NO-REFIREMENT-surviving-continuing-ebook/dp/B06XV52HPQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490748919&sr=8-1&keywords=retirement%3F+no%2C+refirement%21
Would-be authors are invited to see my site
http://WriteYourBookWithMe.com.
Would-be authors are invited to see my site
http://WriteYourBookWithMe.com.
