Who doesn’t want to have a meaningful life in retirement? Everyone does. But, how do you know what will be meaningful to you as you head toward your retirement years? The answer is fairly straightforward. Look inside yourself.

A Meaningful life

Only you can find meaning for yourself. And, the only way you can do this is to turn your attention inward and learn to listen to and understand the sense of what you find there.

What’s Holding You Back From a Meaningful Life Now

• Maybe you know precisely what would have significance for you in this phase of your life, but you’re not sure how to make it happen, or if you genuinely can.
• Maybe you have a pretty good sense of what you like and want to do more but you’re just not sure. And, you don’t know what steps to take to figure that out.
• Maybe you feel an undefined yearning and want to find what can fill that hole and make you whole.

Get to Know Your Yes and No That Comes From Within You:

No matter what your situation is, you can gain valuable insights and ideas by tuning into yourself and trusting what you feel or sense on the inside. For example, do you have tension or restriction in your gut or is there an open and receptive sense in your heart?

The former is a clue indicating whatever you’re doing is not right for you. The latter sense in your heart tells you this is something you want to pursue. (Try my FREE guided meditation or join one of my online workshops on Tapping Into the Inside)

You’re the only one who knows what’s most important to you, and you’re the only one who will take responsibility for your choices.

Planning Your Retirement Your Own Way

All the external advice from friends and family and the promotions geared at retirees provide good ideas and data, but it’s you who has to sift through it all and see what, if anything, resonates with you. Why put your attention and focus on what others do, think, or say when you’re the only person who can figure out what your unique essential self wants, desires, and can do?

So, spend less time focused on the outside and all of its distractions and spend more time on the inside getting to know yourself. It sounds so easy, but is it?

Start with a few basics……

Regularly Check-In With Yourself:

Now that you have a bit more time, claim some time and space to get to know yourself inside.

As you go through your day, check in and reflect on thoughts and feelings that come up. Be curious and for a few minutes, just let them drift, grow, and evolve. There’s no specific end goal here other than allowing yourself to listen to yourself and notice what you think, and especially, how you feel.

You might be surprised to find that packing up and relocating to a condo in Florida or splurging on a Harley-Davidson and hitting the highway for a cross-country discovery trip just doesn’t feel completely open, peaceful, or tingly with anticipation. Maybe times have changed and your old dreams have faded or transformed and your busy thinking, conscious mind never even noticed.

When you feel that you’ve gained enough space and some important insights, you might want to jot down a note about what came up: thoughts, emotions, body sensations, mental images, whatever. You can also look for images that embody those thoughts and emotions and paste them into a journal, onto a vision board, or up on a wall where you can regularly see them as you go about your day.

Checking In With Your Thoughts and Feelings

• What thoughts and emotions came up?
• Did I uncover any ways to make some changes I desire?
• Did anything surprise me?
• What do I want to explore and learn more about?
• Did I get insights on questions and topics I’ve been mulling over for some time?
• Have I gotten a few ideas about how to put my aspirations into play?
• How did I feel (not what did I think) about certain thoughts, ideas, and images that came up?

Repeat this process regularly to build up your resources, and develop a deeper relationship with yourself. In time you’ll gain more clarity and identify some action steps.

Several times a day, take a very brief break from what you’re doing. Ask yourself:

• What am I doing?
• What am I feeling?
• How am I behaving?
• Am I content with this moment? If so, what makes me content?
• Is there something I would like to change? If so, what?
• What can I do right now to move in the preferred direction?

You might want to jot down some notes about this experience as well.

Repeat this process regularly to resource, and build a relationship, with yourself. In time you’ll gain more clarity and identify some steps.

Take Up Additional Reflective Practices:

If you have the interest and the time, some common and valuable practices for inner connection and reflection include:

• Meditation,
• Breath Work,
• Contemplation,
• Sitting in silence,
• Walking alone in nature,
• Yoga,
• Journaling or automatic writing,
• Working with Vision Boards,
• Day dreaming,
• Dream interpretation,
• Energy healing (Reiki, ThetaHealing, Integrated Energy Healing (IET), Chakra Healing, Regression and Progression),
• Shamanic Journeying,
• Oracle card reading, and
• Engaging a coach who can facilitate inward reflection.

What this list illustrates is that the options are numerous and varied for your retirement, providing all kinds of people with all kinds of needs an opportunity to search inside themselves and find their own unique and authentic answers.

And… by taking a step, you can create a more meaningful life and authentic retirement for yourself as well.

Updated December 7th, 2023