Your Non-Financial Retirement Plan: Identity, Purpose, and Growth

How do you introduce yourself at parties? Do you use your job title or do you define yourself in other ways? Oftentimes, our work becomes part of our identity and we begin to think that our job is who we are. This can lead to an identity crisis in retirement which is why it is important for you to define your identity and purpose outside of your career. 

In this episode of Retirement Answer Man, we continue to focus on the non-financial retirement plan while homing in on your identity and purpose. Are you ready for some self-exploration? Hit the play button to learn how to define your identity and purpose outside of your career.

Does your business card reveal your identity?

Do you remember when you got your first business card? That card with your job title let the world know your role in the company and in society. Your business card along with the degrees and certifications that you may have hanging on your office wall can say a lot about what you do for a living, but do those items really reflect your identity? 

In the work world, titles are important to understanding people's roles that we often never think beyond the traditional symbols of identity. However, when you retire, you’ll leave that work world behind and need to find other ways to express who you really are. 

How do you define yourself?

When you retire you no longer have your career tied to your identity. Your career is no longer the focal point of who you are. If you define your worth by your job title, that can leave you feeling lost when your position changes or disappears. 

Have you ever thought about who you really are? Think about how you can separate your identity from your job title. Dig deeper to really discover who you are. How do you define yourself? You don’t want to lose yourself when you lose your business card. 

What is your purpose?

One way to begin to identify yourself outside of your career is to define your purpose. Think about what is your purpose now. How will your purpose change once you leave your career behind? 

To define your purpose, think about what is important to you. Your purpose doesn’t have to be momentous or world, rather, it should be something that is significant to you. Do you want to be an amazing grandparent, an explorer, a creator? Identifying your purpose is a fantastic way to ensure that you don’t get distracted by all the things that can pull you away from your goals. 

Express your identity to have lifetime growth 

Retirement can be whatever you want to make of it. If you want this transitional time to be one of growth then think about your identity and purpose. Who do you want to be in this new stage in life? What role will you now play in the world? As humans, we continue to grow and change over time, but to ensure that you are changing in the direction that you want you’ll need to understand your true identity and define your purpose. Once you do, you will be ready to rock retirement. 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

• [2:00] Separate your identity from your title
• [9:32] How do you define your purpose? 

Q&A WITH NICHOLE 

• [17:25] An after-tax catch-up contribution question
• [24:22] How to save for a child’s upcoming education
• [29:34] Tips on TIPS

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [32:44] How do you identify yourself?

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

BOOK - Effortless by Greg McKeown

BOOK - Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Work with Roger

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center