Purpose on purpose
It is too easy to contrast ‘working’ and ‘not working’, and to make assumptions about the pros and cons of each state.
For example, we readily equate sense of purpose with work of some sort. We also talk about the need to find some other sort of ‘purpose’ if/when we retire from work, or when work is taken away from us, accepting that we need it and anticipating that we’ll miss it.
We say much less about the possibility that a sense of purpose might not be a given while we’re working. About how something that once delivered a sense of purpose may cease to do so. About how – given its link with goals – we risk losing our sense of purpose if we’ve done everything that we originally set out to do, or now see it as less doable, or simply less worth doing.
And because we’re led to think of it as part and parcel of work, we don’t always notice that our sense of purpose has gone missing unless something significant happens that shunts us into awareness. (Examples I see regularly include serious physical or mental illness, bereavement, divorce, redundancy.)
We might, though, note that we feel bored, unmotivated, anxious, threatened, disengaged, bolshy, dulled, weak, bitter, irritable, despairing, bullheaded, diminished, impatient, resigned, limp, sad, angry, and so on.
At the same time, fear of the absence of purpose (equated with work) may lead us to hold onto our work in its current form even though the job may be the problem and a purposeful retirement, a different job, a different working arrangement, or some other creative option, might be the solution.
Because this isn’t about working or not working.
This is about how you feel about what you do, whether that’s work or not. About what you need – now – and how that could be delivered.
Where will that sense of purpose come from? What form will it take? How much of it do you need to keep you happy and mentally fit? How will you identify and shape new goals that support a purposeful, meaningful life where you are at this moment, rather than where you were 20, 30, 40 years ago?
If you’d like help with these questions, get in touch to learn more about my coaching. I’m here to support reflective thinking and good decision-making around work at 50+ and I have two spaces for a January 2025 start.
Photo: Simone Secci on Unsplash