“What!?” you exclaim? Goals? I’m done with the objectives. Throughout my working 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 goal at all!

Maybe 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 retirement goals 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 adversity toward retirement goal setting, let’s start with one of life’s most important and meaningful realities: family.

family goals

Until now, your work life has been a challenging juggling act, trying to balance the demands of family with those of your career or job. He now has the opportunity to renegotiate his 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. Grandchildren can participate in those special excursions that create lasting memories. Now you have time to plan that special and unique birthday event for your significant other or kids, instead of just mailing that predictable birthday card! And don’t forget about your parents, those special people who were largely responsible for the success of your life. They will most likely welcome a weekly breakfast date.

learning goals

And what about your personal mental development? In his article, mind 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 point out that retirees can prevent declines in reasoning ability and mental processing speed 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 group that always seems to be having fun. Hone your Sudoku skills by challenging the virtual friends you’ve put online. Take that gardening course that is so popular at your local community college.

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

Volunteer Goals

If you’ve always believed that the recipient or giver is the one who benefits most from any altruistic endeavor, you’ll find ample opportunities to give back to your community by offering your time, talents, or material resources to worthwhile causes while 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 creating a family PowerPoint slideshow. If you live in the city, your local museum, theater or hospital would eagerly accept your time and talents as a volunteer. And in return, imagine what you would learn in the process in 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 to 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, without knowing it 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 fully share this moment with the people of my country. That there are, in fact, so many incredible destinations beyond the US that my first trip to Europe and every trip thereafter will change me for the better.

“Work” Goals

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

Take a step back and “aim, aim, aim” before firing. Consciously and reflexively, 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 pressing interest? Perhaps you are thinking of venturing into the world of entrepreneurship, instead of to have to boss, being 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, establishing yourself, and moving up the ladder? But that was then, and this is now. Have you ever liked writing? 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 best solos in your high school choir rusty from disuse? Have you long ago put aside your love of woodworking? Or knitting? 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 would be as talented at what you’ve always wanted the opportunity to create. No problem. This just means that time is now for you to start Creating is its own form of pleasure. Expressing yourself through words, oils, fabrics, clay or wood gives a voice to your inner spirit like nothing else ever has or ever will.

If you’ve already learned the skills for your creative venue choice, reconnect with what you know, then learn more, and then move on with passion. If you’ve always dreamed of creating but never learned how, get on the path of study, then develop your art or craft, and then delight 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. yourconducted by its 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 goals can put our lives at risk after retirement.

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