Finding your life’s purpose is important. But let’s say that you’re well into your career, maybe even retired. Have you missed the boat? Is it too late to find your purpose in life?
The answer is not at all. The truth is that you’re probably in a better position now than you ever were. If you’ve been around the block a few times and have a few miles on you, you have a pretty good handle on what matters and what you want out of life. You probably already have the skills to focus on finding your life’s purpose.
As they say in the sports shoe commercial – Just Do It.
Here are a few tips to get you started.
- Set your mindset
The first thing you need to do is floss between your ears. What I mean is that you have to get rid of all preconceived notions floating around between your ears. It’s like spring cleaning. There’s a lot of stuff that’s been put there by other people about what is and isn’t possible.
No matter what your age, you have a choice. You can stay where you’re at or you can choose to make your life different.
Our society is funny in that it tends to bundle people into groups. If you’re over 60, you’re supposed to act a certain way. I’m my own person and I certainly don’t want to be slotted into a life category. From my perspective, I have 100% of my life still ahead of me.
Tom Brady should have retired from football years ago. He’s still playing and winning Super Bowls. Warren Buffett is ninety years old and is still one of the most successful businesspeople alive today. Picasso didn’t retire. He painted until he dropped dead at age ninety-two.
If you don’t believe me, take a look around you and you’ll see that some of the most energetic, passionate people are getting up there in years.
Remember, age is simply a number.
- Work out your heart’s desire
I hope you find your life’s purpose. It’s going to take some work to really find out what you want.
At this stage, take money and social expectations off the table. What I want you to do is to dream big.
One of my goals is to visit every Major League Baseball Park. How about you? Do you want to sail around the world? Take a walking tour of Europe? How about write a book? What about taking a yoga class? Learn an instrument or join a choir? Your choices are only limited by your imagination.
You could something crazy like start a radio show at the age of 65 like I did.
Do some brainstorming and work out what makes your heart sing.
Plan and strategize
Make this a project and attack like you have others in the past. You have the advantage of both age and experience on your side. You know what you need to do because you’ve done stuff like this before.
You have your big goal, now break it down into smaller more manageable pieces. Pretty soon, you’ll have a map of where you are right now and where you want to be in the future. You’ll also have an idea of how it’s going to take to get from Point A to Point B.
What skills do you already have? What training or courses might you need? Whether it’s writing a novel or training for a new career, you need to take the time to plot out a plan of action and a timeframe.
No matter what your age, taking the time to sit back and find your life’s purpose has real benefits. It affects both your mental and physical health.
Adults who live with a purpose live longer, are healthier and are better at dealing with stress.
It’s never too late to start living a life worth living.
