“I’m struggling.”
The text I received from a dear friend a few weeks ago repeated two words I hear quite often when speaking to primetimer friends.
And while there are many reasons people “struggle” — health issues, financial woes, strained relationships, etc — that vary from person to person, one common cause is cited over and over again.
“I’m just drifting along, aimlessly. I can’t seem to find my purpose at this stage of my life. And without purpose . . . well, what’s the point?”
My friend’s text exuded pain, and my heart was filled with empathy.
Many primetimers state that after decades of living with clear, very demanding purposes — survive high school & college, build a successful career, maintain a loving marriage, raise children — retirement leaves them feeling rudderless.
Oh, they love the freedom retirement brings, but they also question what their purpose is.
For the past 6 months, I’ve wrestled with this myself. One day I was happily and busily living with purpose. One minute — one text — turned my world on its axis and left me grappling with knowing the point of my existence. Struggling in a way I hadn’t since my husband’s death 14 years ago.
And then last week, out of the proverbial blue, I realized that this whole “what is my purpose” dilemma is more easily addressed than I thought.
For me, at least, it all comes down to two things:
1. Identify what, according to your belief system, your job is here on earth.
This step was easy for me. As a Christian, Jesus’ own words — that the greatest commands are to love (obey) God and love (serve) others as well as the commission to spread the Gospel — point to my life-job.
2. Identify how, considering your time, talents/abilities, gifts, etc., you can do that job.
As a result, I’ve been asking myself how I am uniquely (relatively so) positioned to obey God, serve others, and spread the Gospel.
If you are feeling purposeless and adrift, I invite you to spend time considering what, according to YOUR faith system (Christian or otherwise) a person’s life-job is. Then examine how you — with your own talents and interests and gifts — can best accomplish that.
