The Path To Purposeful Aging

Young and old, the pandemic likely caused you to think more about your life and purpose in life. Young and old, the new book, Who Do You Want To Be When You Grow Old?, is worth your time to read – start to finish.

Richard J. Leider’s and David A. Shapiro’s co-authored book is about not just on getting older but also on how to grow as we do so.

They explain that the path of purposeful aging is to be traveled for three reasons:

It is energizing and life-affirming; it provides us with that why to get up in the morning.
It makes us more resilient as we face the inevitable adversities of aging.
It enables us to grow whole as we grow older.

Most importantly, it is about having purpose.

“Purpose always involves something that we love to do and enjoy sharing with others, that we feel passionate and care deeply about, and that we feel fits our values and the way we prefer to live and work in the world. Our purpose will always express our true gifts, passions, and values for the sake of others—no exceptions,” explain the authors. And, remember, “success” in the old half of life, is measured internally, not externally.

To help you find your purpose, the authors recommend taking these three steps:

Find out how you want to help.
Find out who you want to help.
Find out what energizes you (and what drains you).

Leider and Shapiro also share this insight:

“Our ability to remain relevant in the world becomes more a matter of our willingness to remain curious, to not know rather than to know, to be a true lover of questions.”

They also recommend you read their book slowly, a little bit at a time. Reflect on the themes that speak to you. Interact with what you read. Write your own thoughts in a Purposeful Aging Journal that you create as you reread the book.

Two other gems for me from the book are:

Sharing our stories is among the most important ways we connect with others in the later years of our lives.

True wealth, as the old adage goes, is not about having what we want; it’s about wanting what we have.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

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