Completing The “Purpose” Portion Of Your Retirement Puzzle
As a child, I was probably more interested in puzzles than my siblings and other family members. I don’t do them now except when I care for my great-niece Lola. She’s only a year old this month but she has some basic puzzle toys that I like to do with her. There is something about the diversion, the challenge, getting just the right fit, and then seeing the finished product that is totally satisfying. There are no loose ends.
As I think about puzzles and write about them now, it makes me want to do the puzzle we have in the basement that has never been started. (That IS a loose end!) Working on puzzles can be relaxing. Time goes by fast. Perhaps I find the endeavor especially fulfilling because putting a physical puzzle together is a lot like what I do in my career. I help people rearrange the pieces of their lives that are in the wrong places and put them back in the right spots to complete their vision or big picture.
Questions About Puzzles
- Did you enjoy doing puzzles as a child?
- Do you still do puzzles?
- Are puzzles a form of relaxation for you?
- Are you the slow-and-steady or the fast-is-fun style of puzzle doer?
- Does your family do puzzles as part of a family holiday tradition?
- Is puzzle assembly a social activity for you?
- Are you a fan of 1,000-piece puzzles or less challenging ones?
- Have you tried a “talking puzzle” where the dialogue printed on the puzzle pieces directs their placement?
- What do you like best about puzzles?
I’m asking so many questions about puzzles because I think life is like a puzzle and we are continuously fitting the pieces and parts of our lives together. Retirement is like a puzzle, too. There are so many pieces to identify, move around, and find a place for in a successful retirement lifestyle plan.
A First Look
I first looked at retirement as a puzzle in my March 2015 newsletter entitled “Your Purpose Puzzle — Aligning The Pieces For A Successful Retirement.” We looked at the “big picture” of your life and asked the questions
- Why are you here?
- How did you get to be who you are?
- What is your purpose?
- What’s important to you?
- How will you make a difference in the world?
At that time, I acknowledged how hard it is to truly understand the significance of each of these questions if we only look at one at a time, as if they are separate pieces of a puzzle.
The answers to these questions should reflect your life purpose. Hopefully, other choices you have made—school, career, family—have aligned with your life purpose and will lead you to make similar decisions as you approach retirement. In your retirement years, you want to be living on purpose. (Read more about living on purpose here.) However, it’s not too late to rearrange your puzzle pieces if you are:
- In the wrong role (creative but unable to use that creativity; social yet not interacting with people)
- Lacking motivation and energy
- Unfulfilled
- Without passion for what you are doing
Now is the time to let your values determine your purpose and let purpose provide meaning for the rest of your life. The missing puzzle piece now is how to find purpose for your retirement years.
Purpose
I have used the word PURPOSE to create an acronym to help you find the puzzle pieces you need for a successful retirement lifestyle. Each letter stands for a concept that will help you discover your purpose. When pieced together, these individual ideas will create a bigger, more complete picture. Like a puzzle, you need to take time and be patient in order to see the final result.
P- Positive: What activities would you pursue if you knew you couldn’t fail?
U- Uplifting: What activity is uplifting for you? What makes you smile? When you do this activity, does time fly?
R- Respected: What strengths, skills, and talents are you respected for by others?
P- Passionate: What are you passionate about? Is there something that gets you excited? Energized? Totally absorbed?
O- Observe: What do you observe in your environment? We often notice what is important to us: a dermatologist observes a person’s skin; an architect sees the structure and design of a building; a chef notices the taste and presentation of other people’s cooking.
S- Study: What is the focus of your life-long learning? What topics do you like to read about?
E- Enjoy: How do you want to spend your free time? How do you relax?
Only you can discover your purpose in life. The questions in “Finding Your Purpose For Your Retirement Years” can help you reflect. Family, friends, and helping professionals can offer feedback. Then it is up to you to determine your purpose so you can assemble the pieces of your retirement puzzle.
Use this puzzle as a starting place. As you answer the questions in the acronym above, fill in the puzzle and see what purpose you create. On the left are all of the financial needs for your retirement. On the right, you can begin to explore the other pieces of your retirement puzzle that will give this next chapter meaning.
Dee
As you face these uncertain times due to COVID-19 as well as changes and transitions in life and work, I welcome the opportunity to assist you. I am available for virtual consultations and virtual presentations at this time instead of corporate and group seminars and community workshops. Please contact me.
Dee Cascio
Author, speaker, Licensed Psychotherapist, Certified Life Coach, Retirement Lifestyle/ReCareer Coach, and Life and Work Transitions Strategies Coach.
The Life and Work Transitions Community
You’ve joined a great group — people who plan to make successful transitions in life and work. May you be inspired to use your strengths and skills to grow in this season and may each transition be your best ever.
Want more help for your life and work transitions?
Check out the Life and Work Transitions Strategies blog
Books by Dee Cascio
Ready To Retire? Successful Retirement Planning To Make The Best Of The Rest Of Your Life
