MONTH 5
Purpose
Meaning doesn't have to come with a job title.
Retirement creates space to think differently about purpose. Instead of asking what we are supposed to do, this month is about asking what matters now, what brings us to life, and where we want to place our time and energy.
THE MONTH AHEAD
Purpose can look different now.
For much of adult life, purpose can arrive already packaged for us. Work needs us. Families need us. People depend on us. There is always something that has to be done.
Retirement changes that equation. Suddenly we have more say in where our time goes. That freedom can feel wonderful, but it can also raise a bigger question: What do I want my life to be about now?
What matters enough that I want to give it some of my time?
What leaves me feeling more alive instead of more depleted?
What do I still want to offer, share, create, or contribute?
Retirement isn't the end of your purpose, it's your chance to choose it.
FINDING YOUR PURPOSE
Look where these three things meet.
Purpose does not have to be one grand mission. It may simply live where what matters to you, what gives you energy, and what you want to contribute begin to overlap.
to me
energy
contribute
You do not need to have all three answers today.
The point is to start noticing where they connect.
MY JOURNEY THIS MONTH
What do I want my time to stand for now?
For years, purpose was closely connected to responsibility. There were people to support, problems to solve, deadlines to meet, and work that needed to get done.
This month I want to look at purpose without automatically turning it into another job. I am paying attention to what feels meaningful, what gives me energy, and where I still feel a pull to contribute.
Purpose does not have to make me busy.
It has to make my time feel meaningful.
THIS MONTH'S CHALLENGE
Make one meaningful connection.
Reach out to someone you've been meaning to reconnect with.
Sometimes purpose begins with remembering the people and relationships that matter to us.
WATCH THE EPISODE
Purpose
Come along as I explore what purpose looks like when work is no longer defining my days, and how I am thinking about meaning, energy, contribution, and where I want to place my time.
Watch the Episode
THE BOOK THIS MONTH
Designing Your Life
Designing Your Life fits our theme of purpose because it approaches life as something we can continue shaping rather than something we are supposed to have completely figured out.
Its design-thinking approach encourages experimentation, reflection, and trying possibilities before making them permanent. That makes it especially useful during retirement, when we may have more freedom to decide what a meaningful life looks like now.
GO DEEPER THIS MONTH
The Month 5 Companion
The Month 5 Companion helps you explore what purpose can look like when work is no longer the thing organizing your time or defining your contribution.
Through practical frameworks, reflection, real-life experiments, and concrete decisions, it helps you examine what matters to you now, what gives you energy, what you still want to contribute, and how those pieces can begin shaping a meaningful retirement life.
Purchase & DownloadINSIDE THE COMPANION
Purpose
- Define what purpose means to you now, beyond work and productivity
- Explore what matters to you, what gives you energy, and what you want to contribute
- Complete your personal Purpose Venn diagram and look for meaningful overlap
- Imagine three possible versions of a meaningful retirement life and identify one to test
- Designing Your Life discussion, reflection, and personal takeaways
