Finding Your Purpose After 50

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We transition. Children grow and move away; careers require less from us — in some cases, marriages fail, and you find yourself wondering about finding purpose in life after 50.

 The truth is that the second half of life can be even more rewarding than the first half. With fewer demands and constraints on your time and energy, you can focus on personal growth and contribution.

It’s worth noting, though, that it’s less about finding purpose and more about creating it — at any age. You grow your purpose as you evolve — and nurture it, like a child.

The Soul Search: Meditation and Prayer

I found peace on my Alaska cruise following my divorce of a 25-year marriage. I brought it home with me, and it stirred up an incredible hunger for finding a more spiritual existence. 

You don’t have to be religious to embark on an inner spiritual journey. Sometimes, we have to create stillness and allow ourselves to do some soul-searching through conscious thought, meditation, and prayer.

• What did you think you’d have accomplished by this stage in your life?
• What’s left undone and just waiting for this opportunity?
• Now that you can breathe and stretch, what do you feel compelled to do?
• What do you really want?

Consider your core values, strengths, talents, goals, and achievements. What personal footprint do you want to leave on the planet and the people on it? What do other people think you’re good at doing? Where does your motivation come from?

Faith, regardless of belief systems, has the power to pull us in a positive direction. The existential energy can re-kindle our belief in ourselves and our destiny. 

We’re propelled forward when we have faith that we’re doing the right thing, being creative, fulfilling our potential, and living our most authentic lives.

Books by Eckhart Tolle and others like him remind us to live in the present. 

Keep a Journal or a Blog

There are many benefits to keeping a journal, whether you write by hand or keep a digital format.

Writing down your thoughts, emotions, and feelings helps you express and vent. You can keep these private or publish them in a blog form like I’m doing on my blog: MidlifeMonarch.com.

Your journal then provides an opportunity for you to let those thoughts rest and then go back for a read with a fresh perspective. 

You may find that you’ve left yourself little nuggets of gold in the way of ideas and observations – Ah-ha moments that light the path.

Dedicate just ten minutes per day to writing out accounts of the day’s activities. Which of them made you feel charged and which drained your energy? What challenges did you face?

Putting your words on paper takes the ideas out of the realm of thought, out of the ethereal world, and puts them into the physical reality where they’re easier to conceive, believe, and achieve.

You can keep track of how each activity makes you feel before, during, and after completing it. If it adds value, keep your energy flowing in that direction. If you feel anxiety, stress, or disinterest, then replace that activity with another.

This is also an excellent opportunity to keep a gratitude journal, focusing on things in your life that bring you joy.

Maintain Excellent Health

Studies indicate that individuals who have a strong sense of purpose are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment. 

They also are less likely to suffer from strokes or heart attacks, develop disabilities later in life, and have a lower mortality rate than those without a sense of purpose.

Your physical health influences your mental health, so you can feel bad not only physically but also mentally. 

It’s hard to feel a sense of purpose when your body aches and your mind is in a fog. To have your body in good health keeps your mind more positive and focused, which gives you boosts of energy to get more accomplished in a day.

Joining a gym or taking a Zumba or yoga class is a great way to improve your physical and mental health and contribute to your social well-being by allowing you to interact and engage with others in that mindset.

I had a random bout of high blood pressure after 6-months of being too sedentary during the 2020 pandemic.

That wake-up call got me moving. I brought back daily walks, invested in a Peloton spin bike, and work out to free Youtube videos regularly.  I have a code for the Peloton if you are interested: YVZ6BD.

I also ditched the sugar other than holidays and special occasions and began taking daily supplements. I also picked up an herbal tea habit, which I love. 

No more high blood pressure!

Make a To-Do List of Your Interests and Desires

Earlier in life, it may have been considered selfish or impractical to chase your daydreams and hobbies, but now is the perfect time to capitalize on your talents, abilities, and interests. 

What do you engage in that doesn’t feel like work, even when it’s challenging? Some examples include:

• Painting

• Gardening

• Pottery

• Writing

• Sewing, knitting, or crocheting

• Crafting

• Woodworking

• Cooking

• Dancing

For me, it’s genealogy. I purchased 2 DNA tests, actually. I got one from Ancestry.com and one from 23andMe. I use the Ancestry.com tree to build the DNA matches and paper trail. 

Making your to-do list of interests doesn’t mean you have to tackle them all. But this is an ideal time to pick an item from your list and sign up for a class. 

Not only will you pick up a new skill and enjoy time out of the house, but you’ll also meet like-minded people along the way.

The benefit of finding an interest that inspires you and helps you be creative is that it adds to your happiness, to your peace of mind, to your sense of well-being. 

When your body and mind are healthy, you’re more capable of helping others and developing a deep sense of purpose.

Don’t Wait to Make a Change

One of the most detrimental things you can do as you seek out your purpose is to sit, dormant, thinking about things without making change.

It’s essential to get out, see and be seen, get involved, and stimulate your senses. 

As you define and refine your life’s goals and objectives, be prepared to take action. You can get lost in the thinking part of it, which could lead to depression and a lack of self-worth. Or, you can embrace the potential for new experiences.

Become an Activist for a Worthy Cause You Believe In

You may have always been passionate about a particular cause – be it animal rights, ocean conservation, global warming, fighting cancer, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, or something else. 

But just because you had the passion and interest all those years doesn’t mean you had the time, energy, or money to invest in raising awareness and making a difference. 

Donating your time and/or financial support to a charitable organization helps you feel like you’re creating value and leaving the world a little better than when you found it — because you are!

Get Involved with Your Local Community

There is a plethora of ways to give back to your community, adding a valuable sense of purpose to your life. We often thrive the most when we’re giving to others. It feels good to help.

Consider dedicating some time serving the hungry at a food bank, volunteer at a convalescent center or hospital, become a reading mentor at a nearby school, help out at an animal shelter, or check local news for more ways to contribute to your community.

If you do belong to a church or religious organization, it’s an ideal place to find a sense of purpose, social stimulation, and more ways to volunteer and give.

Surround Yourself with the Right People

Who is your tribe? Do they share the same passions and have the same goals of contribution?

The people you surround yourself with can either elevate your life condition or bring you down with a negative vibe.

Your friends and peers can support your endeavors, encourage you, and inspire you to achieve more. 

You may also find that networking with more people provides ample opportunity to discover additional areas of interest or needs for your skillset.

Travel

Travel is another way to stimulate mind, body, and soul through exposure to different environments, cultures, circumstances, insights, enlightening moments, and ignited inspiration to get more out of life. 

Travel keeps you from being stagnant and falling prey to being in a rut or feeling depressed.

There are plenty of places to visit that can be awe-inspiring, triggering spiritual and mental growth. 

Whether you choose something simple like spending time in the woods, at the ocean, in the mountains, or a magical place like Sedona, Arizona, with its mystical vortexes and metaphysical interests, travel can help you find a sense of purpose.

You can also join groups where others like you who want to travel can do so with other like-minded individuals and not travel alone.

May 50+ Women have begun a travel blog. You can learn more about how to start a travel blog at BallenBlogger.com.

The Bottom Line

Getting older is difficult. Our sense of feeling needed fades as life expects less and less from us as we age. But that doesn’t mean we’re not needed. 

There are many ways to take care of yourself and keep healthy to contribute through volunteering and financial donations. 

Spend some quality time in prayer and/or meditation to get in touch with what your soul wants to achieve, where your higher power wants to steer you. Keep a journal. 

Find ways to support local non-profits and charitable organizations. And surround yourself with people who are on the same path as you. Travel to experience diversity. 

Find friends who are also looking for the answer to how to finding purpose in life after 50. They’ll be the support system that helps you reach and celebrate your wins.

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