Do We Still Need to Set Goals after 50?

There was a point in my life, just after my divorce, where I wondered what was to come next for me.  I moved into an attractive villa in a gated community about twenty minutes from my old home. While the gate was intended to keep bad people out, it also kept my friends from stopping by like they did when we lived in a big family neighborhood within walking distance of a park, shopping, restaurants and my daughter’s school.

My high school aged daughter needed less from me; there were far fewer errands, chores and loads of dirty laundry.  Our relationship changed from our being buddies to…well most of you know what teenagers can be like.  Work was quiet too.   My once busy life seemed to have disappeared over night.

When I was crazy busy, I longed for the wide open days I was now experiencing; I imagined I’d draw, read a book, or walk through the park.  I’d sleep in; I’d watch TV during the day, though most of all, I thought I wouldn’t experience time related  pressure anymore. Now that I had seemingly unending strings of days with nothing on the calendar, I felt stress from not having anything to do and the sense that I should be doing “something”.  

Though life seemed to have opened me to endless possibilities, and the time to pursue them, I no idea where to start let alone the desire to pursue any of them. When the first and second Januarys went by without my usual resolutions and plans, I was surprised. It was the first time in a very long time, I had no goals.

Looking back,I think being without goals during that period of time in my life was a good thing.  Sometimes we need to step back and heal.  We need time to reassess our lives, and imagine new dreams.  That was what was actually happening, only I didn’t really realize it at the time.  I didn’t need goals, I needed to veg out.

After the veg period, the idea of Sharing A Journey began to develop.  I started researching, playing with ideas, and my creative juices began to flow again.  As my creativity began to emerge, and Sharing A Journey began to come to life, I embraced goals again, but in a very different way than I had before.  

My New Approach to Goals:

*I approach my goals in a light hearted fun way, rather than a “nose to the grindstone way” like I used to.

*I am very clear about what I want and continue to hone and clarify my goals.

*I reverse engineer them into manageable pieces and work them into a timeline,

*I am flexible yet focused,

*I schedule the steps I plan to take toward my goals into my calendar, and

*I track my progress.  

What I’ve learned in my old age:  

Now that I am moving forward in my life again, I am seeing that my goals are much more attainable than when I was younger, I am simply more experienced and confident than I was when I was younger, AND, I am much more in tune with what I want and my ability to manifest my desires.

Why do we still need goals after 50?

Because there is no reason for us to stop dreaming new dreams and making them happen.

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