Having a sense of purpose and something constructive to do is vitally important, particularly as we age. Having a reason to get up each day, offers us invaluable physical and emotional health benefits.
Purpose provides us with more focus and direction in life. Being active and engaged inspires and motivates us and it energizes our overall emotional and physical health.
The benefits of purpose include:
Focus and direction: Purpose and having something meaningful to do each day helps to keep our minds focused on things that motivate us – things that give us something to look forward to. That focus and direction means we have our minds centered on things that make us think and do – it means we’re sharpening our mind power.
Emotional Health: Being actively engaged with a meaningful sense of purpose helps to lower our stress and anxiety levels. It also helps with feelings of loneliness and depression because we’re usually doing things with other people, which fosters a feeling of congeniality and camaraderie.
Physical Health: There are numerous respected studies that prove that having a sense of purpose keeps us moving, helps us sleep better and encourages healthier living and lifestyle choices.
How do we stay active?
When we’re younger, being active and engaged usually comes naturally – between school, parenting, career and socializing, younger people are just more inclined to be “out there” doing things.
As we get older and perhaps retire, having that sense of purpose and direction is vital and there are a lot of great opportunities for us to be active.
Regular engagement can be achieve by several means as we age, such as:
· Getting a part-time job: returning to the workplace on a part-time basis offers a lot of great opportunities for feeling engaged, focused and valued.
· Becoming a caregiver/providing day care for family members with children
· Volunteering: there are many choices of where and how to volunteer, such as at a local hospital, community center, animal shelter, museum, etc.
· Hobbies: the possibilities are almost limitless, such as painting, knitting, a bridge club, travel — anything that provides a constructive and engaging opportunity for being active.
The first step
What we do doesn’t have to be grand or compelling. Staying busy, active and engaged can be anything that you look forward to. Whether it be a part-time job, volunteering or a hobby, the most important thing is that it makes you feel good and motivated.
The first and probably most important step is to resolve yourself to becoming more engaged and active. What we choose to do may change over time, so just getting started is the first big step to take. What things do you see yourself doing? Try jotting down some ideas and set a target date for when you’d like to get out there and be more active and involved.
“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” — Mitch Albom
